The world rarely makes it convenient to do the right thing. Much as one might strive to eat, shop, and operate in the spirit of The Good Life in Liberal Portland, it takes continuous effort to stay one step ahead of misleading marketing, small print, and conflicting claims. Supportland, a mom ‘n’ pop startup launching in Portland—currently slated for June 10—aims to not only make buying locally effortless (you’re still on your own figuring out what “free range” really means), but to change the game on corporations by taking their marketing weapons and putting them in the hands of the little guys. It’s a call to arms against big business domination, but it’s a battle that will go absolutely nowhere without an army of participating consumers—namely YOU. Your only weapon? A rewards card.
JOIN THE FIGHT, GET IN THE GAME
IN A FEW SHORT WEEKS, you’ll start seeing stickers in the windows of neighborhood businesses, decorated with happy cartoon versions of squirrels, bunnies, and North Portland’s Paul Bunyan statue cavorting against the backdrop of a snow-capped Mt. Hood. Inside these marked establishments you can pick up a free Supportland rewards card and immediately jump in the game. Essentially, your card will operate like any other rewards program. Simply have the cashier swipe it at any participating business when you make a purchase, and it will begin to accumulate points. You can find these businesses through the Supportland website (supportland.com), GPS-enabled iPhone app, Twitter feed, Facebook page, or, if you’re feeling proactive, just ask.
Because Supportland only contracts with businesses that meet the definition of local as put forth by the Sustainable Business Network of Portland’s criteria—privately held, with 50 percent or more of business ownership residing in Multnomah, Clackamas, Columbia, Yamhill, Washington, or Clark County, for instance—it’s an easy indicator that you can feel confident your money’s going toward sustaining the local economy.
Katrina Scotto di Carlo, who along with her husband Michael hatched Supportland out of their St. Johns house (her background is in visual arts, his in the high tech industry), likes to point to the example of 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Seattle—one of a number of Starbucks-deceptively-not-called-Starbucks—as the kind of misleading marketing maneuver Supportland will help undermine. Even in Portland, after months of hosting Supportland seminars in pointedly local cafés, Scotto di Carlo reported her surprise at how many places she’d always assumed were local turned out to be faux local. Supportland is one way to vet the places you patronize without having to do anything more than whip out your card and ask if they’ll take it. If they don’t, maybe you should ask why.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
MOVING ON FROM THE SHOP-LOCAL warm fuzzies and getting to the points: Like other rewards cards, you accumulate points through purchases, but what makes Supportland unique is that the businesses also have point accounts. A business can attract customers by using its points for an incentive—a bar could offer 10 of their points to customers who buy a draft beer, for instance. To gain back points (and again, get more people through the door), the bar would need to then offer something in exchange for points—like a happy hour appetizer for 20 points.
One of the beauties of the system is that the consumer can be as engaged or disengaged as they wish. You can use the website and various social networking tools to find businesses and their point incentives, searching by product or service or by location. Say you’re broke, but rich in Supportland points, and you need a haircut. Theoretically you could search specifically for businesses in your neighborhood offering haircuts in exchange for points (but don’t forget to tip with money!), seal the deal online, then walk up the street to collect.
Alternatively, you can put in the minimal amount of effort. Michael Scotto di Carlo was the model for this strategy, as someone who hates dealing with punch cards and coupons or planning around who offers what. All he has to do to benefit from Supportland is make a habit of having his card swiped every time he makes a purchase, and any offer he’s eligible for will automatically pop up.
LIFTING UP THE LITTLE GUYS
WHILE SUPPORTLAND IS DEAD SIMPLE from the consumer’s perspective, the businesses have more to consider. The Supportland software offers a spectrum of incentive options each business can customize to their immediate or long-term needs, from getting rid of the last of the day’s muffins an hour before closing, to teaming up with other businesses for combined offers, or singling out regulars with customized rewards, like a free glass of Côtes du Rhône for every 20 bought by that one regular who always orders the same, specific thing.
Tony Fuentes of Milagros Boutique is one of Supportland’s biggest cheerleaders, and one of the 194 businesses and approximately 650 individuals who have pre-registered for the program. As a business owner himself, he enthuses that it “will create a simple way to create incentives. We commonly conduct joint promotions with other local businesses [but] those efforts are ad hoc and sometimes resource intensive. This provides a way to work jointly, but that partnering is simple and passive. Moreover,” he adds, “[it] promises to be more than a simple discount card or loyalty program. It gives us the flexibility to create any promotion we want, any time we want. And we can implement that promotion at the speed of type. This is a natural complement for business like ours who are active on Twitter and so forth, and it means that the program will be more exciting and engaging for consumers. I think the staid nature of traditional buy-local programs—[the] discount or promo never changes—limits the excitement and engagement for customers.”
Outside of convenience and flexibility, there is marketing power inherent in a shared, computerized platform. Big businesses have long used tracking information gathered through shoppers’ rewards cards to hone their strategies, using software that has historically been out of reach for small businesses. Supportland gives their businesses access to those same kinds of metrics, so that they can track specifically how beneficial their promotions are in attracting and keeping customers. (Privacy note: Supportland doesn’t make names or addresses accessible, just your Supportland account number.) By banding together, local independents can use the shared tracking software to determine how best to direct their energy, forming a united competitive front against corporate entities, rather than thousands of tiny Davids against a few Goliaths.
Like any entrepreneurs worth their salt, the Scotto di Carlos’ sights are set high. The idea is not just to include bars and boutiques and coffee shops, but larger enterprises like steel mills, ad agencies, and construction companies. There’ll be computerized point-of-sale technology, but Supportland can also be accessed by iPhone and even in paper-based form, making it available to every guitar tutor, massage therapist, yoga teacher, tailor, and Saturday Market-vending candlestick maker. Ultimately they’d like to expand to other markets in the US, then internationally. In a perfect Supportland future, you’ll be able to determine authentic local businesses wherever you travel in the world, cashing in on the points you collected in Italy in China, Africa, or at home.
$$$$
IT’S TEMPTING TO THINK OF SUPPORTLAND as the launch of a new sub-currency—after all, you’ll be able to exchange points for goods and services, with an ebb and flow moving between customers and business. Katrina Scotto di Carlo admits that, “while parts of it do act like an alternative currency, it really is a rewards card. Our goal is to keep US dollars circulating locally, not invent our own currency.” She continues, “Besides the fact that we are not technically a local currency, we also shy away from the label because the idea of an alternative currency freaks some people [out]. The rewards card is something much more comfortable and mainstream—people are already carrying big box store rewards cards around in their wallets. The bar for entry is a lot lower education-wise than with an alternative currency. We really want every citizen under the sun to be on the Supportland system, not just the alternative currency enthusiasts.”
So maybe it’s getting ahead of ourselves to imagine a lifestyle where Supportland points negate the need for government-issued currency. After all, if Supportland doesn’t catch on with consumers and businesses alike, it will just be one more piece of plastic cluttering up your purse, occasionally scoring you a free cookie. But, just maybe it’s the start of something bigger—an opportunity for ordinary people to take control of the economics we’ve grown accustomed to and that have been dictating our realities. At this point, it’s anyone’s bet.
I’d bet $20 on Supportland being wildly successful! 🙂
ill see your 20 and raise you 15.
I still don’t understand how this is going to be fair for all the business owners involved.
Like, what if a person gets points every time they go to business A, and then finally, when they save enough, they go to business B to redeem them. Business A gets all the sales, and business B loses money providing the prize, right?
Who reimburses business B?
I really cannot wait to see how this all turns out. My favorite way to use my points would be to use them for parking machines around town. You are going to make that happen, right? Go Supportland!!!
@Jeff,
There is a “fixed” universe of points. Businesses have a bank of points that grows or shrinks depending on the promo being employed .
A business either sends points away via a Point Incentive (e.g Spend $5 and get 50 Supportland points!) or attracts them with a Reward Incentive (e.g. redeem 50 Supportland points and get a free latte!).
If a business empties its point bank via a Point Incentive, it needs to attract points back with a Reward Incentive or it won’t be able to tap into Supportland customer base (i.e. you can’t give away points you don’t have).
I imagine businesses will either toggle back and forth between the incentive types or always have a mix of both. In any case, most businesses will not want to send Supportland customers away because they have no points to give unless they are done with the program or just aren’t actively using it.
You are correct that a reward incentive will have a real cost to a business (e.g. free coffee! isn’t free for the business). But every business is already doing this in some way on their own – punch cards, coupons, sales, etc.
By balancing point and reward incentives and defining them in any way they like at any time (i.e. the business can choose how valuable an incentive is (that free coffee could cost you 5, 10, 50, 100 points anything…), the individual business can manage its direct cost related to doing these campaigns against the value of enhancing its own customer loyalty and attracting new customers who participate in the program.
By its very nature the program is designed to identify and empower consumers and businesses that are part of the “buy local” economy, the value of those new customers attracted via Supportland will be much higher in my mind than what we would attract with a sale or coupon that is put out there with less “targeting”.
@Tony @Jeff
Thanks Tony! Great description.
Thanks Jeff, we get this question from time to time.
@Tony
Thanks, that clears some things up for me. It’s a little complicated, and a lot of times customers don’t like complicated, but it sounds like they don’t really need to understand it to reap the benefits, and that’s all that really matters.
There have been several other projects in town that have tried to network locally owned businesses with one another through discounts and stuff (choose local/map clicks, navigate portland, and there’s another new one coming out soon that I forget the name of), and they’ve all offered the same thing, but in my opinion, failed to deliver. They cost the businesses a couple hundred bucks to join, and then fail to drive new sales, so the business owner is out a couple hundred bucks, and often stuck just discounting sales they would have had anyway (at full price).
The option to earn points and use them anywhere is a good model to get people to try out new places, (strengthening the network, and letting local businesses support one another) and it goes a step further than the other programs have.
I really hope it catches on!
@Tony
Thanks, that clears some things up for me. It’s a little complicated, and a lot of times customers don’t like complicated, but it sounds like they don’t really need to understand it to reap the benefits, and that’s all that really matters.
There have been several other projects in town that have tried to network locally owned businesses with one another through discounts and stuff (choose local/map clicks, navigate portland, and there’s another new one coming out soon that I forget the name of), and they’ve all offered the same thing, but in my opinion, failed to deliver. They cost the businesses a couple hundred bucks to join, and then fail to drive new sales, so the business owner is out a couple hundred bucks, and often stuck just discounting sales they would have had anyway (at full price).
The option to earn points and use them anywhere is a good model to get people to try out new places, (strengthening the network, and letting local businesses support one another) and it goes a step further than the other programs have.
I really hope it catches on!
@Jeff – I think there definitely is a bit of a learning curve on the business side of things but on the customer side it will be clean and simple.
At the same time, the iphone and web apps for managing the account – as well as twitter info and such from Supportland- will give those customers who really want to geek-out on it the chance to do so.
I am wondering what is so “not local” about Starbucks? Just because they are big and successful doesn’t mean they aren’t local Starbucks was incorporated under the laws of the State of Washington, in Olympia, Washington, on November 4, 1985. The example of 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Seattle—one of a number of Starbucks-deceptively-not-called-Starbucks—might be an example of misleading marketing. What’s that got to do with local?
@mic: Hi! As the maker of the comment about Starbucks, I wanted to throw two cents down. The comment about Starbucks comes from an article by Stacey Mitchell (http://bit.ly/axnrXM): “Starbucks, a company that has spent untold millions developing one of the most recognizable brands on the planet, is now beginning to un-brand some of its outlets.” It’s not questioning the local-ness of Starbucks, but an understanding that huge corporations are trying to re-brand themselves to appear more local. This strategy seems strikingly different that the strong brand identity campaigns run in the past.
I can’t wait to start swiping my card!
While this is an interesting idea – it seems a bit cumbersome and potentially confusing, but this could clear up with use – I find some of the come on a bit threatening and somewhat extortionistic:
“Even in Portland, after months of hosting Supportland seminars in pointedly local cafés, Scotto di Carlo reported her surprise at how many places she’d always assumed were local turned out to be faux local. Supportland is one way to vet the places you patronize without having to do anything more than whip out your card and ask if they’ll take it. If they don’t, maybe you should ask why.”
The inference here is that, as a business, if you don’t participate in this program, the customer should be questioning whether or not you’re a “bad guy,” as in large corporation. I own Kenny and Zuke’s, and this is the first I’m hearing of this program. We haven’t been approached about it, and if we eventually are (I imagine this post might facilitate that!), I might not decide to participate. Yet we’re 100% locally owned and buy as much of our raw ingredients locally as possible. If we don’t buy into this, is the inference then that we’re one of the bad guys, or that our customers “should ask why?”
Maybe we prefer to just run our own promotions, and not kick back some of the proceeds to this outside company.
Agreed chefken.
There have been plenty of similar programs promising to help local, small, independent, etc… business (which sounds great!), but what customers don’t understand is that these programs aren’t created to do any of those things. They’re created to siphon money off of local business’ bottom lines, and into the pockets of the creators.
I’m fine with paying a group like Supportland some money if their service is mutually beneficial and helps drive enough new customers to my business to justify the costs, but one thing a lot of people don’t seem to realize is that for the most part, these programs only appeal to people that are already choosing local businesses in the first place.
As an example, I tried “choose local” one year. It cost me about $500, and I got a sticker for my window and a sign for my counter advertising that we participate. In that year, I never had any new customer come in that said they found my business through the program (and I’d know, because they’d pull the card out and use it in that case), and I never had a customer that chose my business over another because of it. What I DID have happen was that I ended up giving a lot of discounts to people who came to my counter expecting to pay full price. Eventually I just took down the advertisements. So who did the program benefit? The company that runs it made $500, some customers that I would have had anyway saved a few bucks, and I lost out both times.
Like I said before, I really like the concept of supportland, and I’m pulling for it to be a success. It would be great if the program worked like it was designed to, and helped not only the creators of the program and the customers that used it, but also the businesses that it’s supposedly designed to support. I think supportland is structured in an interesting way, and offers more than previous programs have, even if it is a little bit cumbersome.
The bottom line though is that if it costs me more to participate than it makes me in additional sales, it’s not supporting local business…
@ At chefken: The intention of the suggestion to ask why was indeed to encourage people to find out whether, when they think they are choosing local, they really are.
But also, as a consumer I’m super excited about the Supportland launch, since I (think I) shop local most of the time, and am therefore anticipating racking up a boatload of points without having to change my existing habits. I want to maximize those benefits by making sure all the businesses I make purchases from are at least aware of the program, especially the ones I go to all the time. That in itself is going to motivate me to make a habit of asking. If the bar/market/shop on my corner participates, I’ll collect more points on a regular basis. If they don’t because they’re not eligible, that’s a lot different than not participating because they don’t think it’s worth their while (which isn’t likely to change the frequency of my visits). I think it’s good to know either way.
I should clarify that it’s not AS likely to change the frequency of my visits. If I can get the equivalent product or service at two equally convenient places, I’m probably going to go for the one with the point incentive.
Well shizzles….I’m broke so no points for me but hell I sure like the Art for the article.Scrappers?Dig buddy,dig.
Hi @chefken and @jeff!
It sounds like you both feel like you’ve been burned before on programs to help local businesses. While I’m convinced we’re a different animal than those other attempts, it sounds like it’d be best for you to just observe how Supportland works for a while before participating. Every piece of the system has built in metrics for the business owners so you immediately see the ROI and know whether the program is working for you.
Just want to throw out that we LOVE collaborators – the only reason Supportland looks like it does today is through the input of business owners, bloggers, friends, and merrymakers – so if you’d like to chat over coffee sometime we’re all ears. (I really, really hope you take me up on that)
It first read, this sounds great, but there are some things not addressed in the article (nor yet in the comments). Aren’t there any old-school paranoid Oregon hippies out there any more? Oh wait, that’s me. I don’t have ANY points cards, because I don’t want my buying habits profiled by some suit, and more importantly, I don’t want my buying habits held in a database that could at some point be sold or subpoenaed. So why hasn’t anyone asked what Supportland is going to do with your info?
I also wonder about what makes something local. It is second nature to patronize the mom and pop convenience store instead of the Walgreens next door, but the crap I buy in either place still has lots of travel miles on it. I’d like to know where I can go to get “super-local”.
Hi @hep –
Supportland has a hardcore privacy policy where we legally bind ourselves to protect any information we gather. The only information shared is anonymous and it’s only shared with locally-owned businesses on the network. We really just want to level the playing field with big business.
As for subpoenaing, I hadn’t thought of that. I’m curious if we can address that in our bylaws or the legal framework that we’re building to protect consumer privacy. Thanks for bringing it up – it seems like the sortof thing that would best be addressed proactively.
Oh, and we follow the Sustainable Business Network of Portland for our definition of locally-owned. Whether or not a “super-local” type rating system or something comes forth in the future depends on consumer demand. I’ve heard from a few folks that they’d appreciate some sortof system. Totally email us if you’d be interested in chatting over coffee cause we’re just in St Johns and love hearing from folks.
As far as businesses go, how would points be allocated to businesses with multiple locations? Would each location have to register & pay separately, or would the same number of points be allocated to a small business as would be to a larger one? Thanks for this info on this–sounds great so far!
Can we apply the ‘faux-local’ label to carpet-baggin’ generic indie rock too?
@Ali
Multiple location can be handled couple of ways. A location can be added to a business account (venue) and that location would share points/and incentives with all other locations. You can also setup multiple venues with full subscriptions each of which would have their own points/rewards to distribute. Hope that answers it!
We can apply the faux-local label to the carpetbagging pseudo intelligent “I am LOCAL”,I just moved here,this is my town,phony non-natives who gots such wonderful bright ideas about how to change this town for the better “I am a Mountain”of non talent,non original non sense.We are all transit.Stop this stupid local crap.All you “I’m Local” should never ever travel……hypocrits.Your only LOCAL when your buried,unless your coffin slips into the river on to the next town.