Loyalty used to be simple, drink a soda and get rewarded for it. As brands expand their “social currencies” into a virtual Federal Reserve, based around larger partnerships, what will the future look like? Consumer loyalty is being targeted in exchange for virtual cash. From the utopic to the dystopic, we’ll take a look at alternate futures: The idealist agency perspective that each brand should have its own economy. What could go wrong? We’ll explore visions of consumers making transactions with 50+ currency options. “I’ll pay with ‘widget’ points ma’am, they’re trading well today.” Then let’s shift into brand-based personal economies, with each consumer having their own “virtual exchange.” What happens when brands go to war over your “loyalty economy?” Lastly, what if everyone cashes out, flooding our economy with virtual cash? Complete devaluation of our current economy? I’m sure we’ll be fine, I’ll just drink a bitcoin and shut the %@! up.
9th–13th March 2012