Major Regional Grocer Leverages New Buying Power Social Network Application to Offer Consumers Savings
Thriftway launches program to save shoppers money with new social network application, fondalo®, for Facebook and Twitter.
Portland, OR, October 03, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Thriftway shoppers will now receive exclusive offers and savings because of the stores’ affiliation with the new fondalo® buying power social network. Fondalo offers Thriftway, as a fondalo member company, a new way to leverage the consumer buying power of social networks in unprecedented ways. The agreement between Thriftway and fondalo brings exclusive deals to fondalo users on thousands of products sold by the 28-store retail grocer. Those offers are posted directly to Facebook and Twitter user news feeds making the consumer outreach truly viral.
“As a group of independent grocers, Thriftway has been trying to figure out the best way to both offer consumers great value in this tough economic time And work within social networks like Facebook and Twitter to reach out to consumers. The targeting and social sharing components fondalo delivers within their buying power social network application reaches well beyond what we could do on our own, ”said Tom Evans, Owner, Hank's Thriftway. “We love the fact that our marketing dollars are not going to be based on typical expensive demographic and geographic targeting, but instead, we’re making offers directly to consumers that will be able to share these offers with their facebook and twitter social networks.
How Does It Work?
fondalo was built to be used as either a stand-alone website (www.fondalo.com), or as an application within facebook (http://apps.facebook.com/fondalo). Users can connect with friends and other like-minded users around specific brands, products and services to request special offers from retailers. It’s easy to request offers and invite other users to join inside or out of Facebook.
For example… A fondalo user is interested in buying a laptop computer, but wants a better price than what they find being offered through ads. They can create an offer request at a special price in fondalo to a specific manufacturer and invite other users with similar interests to join the request. Once the request gains significant mass, fondalo works with the manufacturer to get the best offer they can make.
"Thriftway already has great name brand recognition in this market,” says Robert M. Caruso, fondalo CEO. “Having them as a member company making special offers to our user base will really show the value of our new buying power social network application. With consumers pinching every penny Thriftway is really stepping up to meet consumers’ need to save money with some great bargain offers. We believe fondalo is the solution to leverage social networks both for consumer buying power and social marketing at its finest for companies. This is fondalo at its core."
The company launched version 1.0 on September 1st, allowing consumers to create their own bargains, users to build their category, product and service interests, make their Facebook and external friend connections, then start requesting and joining offers from companies. “Today fondalo launches a unique social network application to, enable local, regional and national companies a new avenue to reach quality, loyal customers – and keep them!” says Caruso.
About fondalo, Inc.
Based out of the Portland, Oregon metro area, fondalo is the first buying power social networking application, that gives business subscribers a way to effectively launch marketing campaigns into the most popular online social networks, including facebook and Twitter.
fondalo gathers buying preference information from its subscribers to create a powerful marketing database. Business subscribers use this database to identify consumer groups within the system that are most likely interested in their offering, then they use the fondalo system to push targeted marketing campaigns into social network sites. Once inserted, the offer is spread throughout the targeted subscribers' social network. The more appealing the offer, the more virally it can spread via connecting social networks.
Consumers join fondalo for the opportunity to find bargains locally, regionally and nationally. They build a profile of their interests and join together around those interests to request deals from businesses that sell those products and services. Business subscribers can make offers to subscriber requests or make their own offers, based on non-identifying user profile data.
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“As a group of independent grocers, Thriftway has been trying to figure out the best way to both offer consumers great value in this tough economic time And work within social networks like Facebook and Twitter to reach out to consumers. The targeting and social sharing components fondalo delivers within their buying power social network application reaches well beyond what we could do on our own, ”said Tom Evans, Owner, Hank's Thriftway. “We love the fact that our marketing dollars are not going to be based on typical expensive demographic and geographic targeting, but instead, we’re making offers directly to consumers that will be able to share these offers with their facebook and twitter social networks.
How Does It Work?
fondalo was built to be used as either a stand-alone website (www.fondalo.com), or as an application within facebook (http://apps.facebook.com/fondalo). Users can connect with friends and other like-minded users around specific brands, products and services to request special offers from retailers. It’s easy to request offers and invite other users to join inside or out of Facebook.
For example… A fondalo user is interested in buying a laptop computer, but wants a better price than what they find being offered through ads. They can create an offer request at a special price in fondalo to a specific manufacturer and invite other users with similar interests to join the request. Once the request gains significant mass, fondalo works with the manufacturer to get the best offer they can make.
"Thriftway already has great name brand recognition in this market,” says Robert M. Caruso, fondalo CEO. “Having them as a member company making special offers to our user base will really show the value of our new buying power social network application. With consumers pinching every penny Thriftway is really stepping up to meet consumers’ need to save money with some great bargain offers. We believe fondalo is the solution to leverage social networks both for consumer buying power and social marketing at its finest for companies. This is fondalo at its core."
The company launched version 1.0 on September 1st, allowing consumers to create their own bargains, users to build their category, product and service interests, make their Facebook and external friend connections, then start requesting and joining offers from companies. “Today fondalo launches a unique social network application to, enable local, regional and national companies a new avenue to reach quality, loyal customers – and keep them!” says Caruso.
About fondalo, Inc.
Based out of the Portland, Oregon metro area, fondalo is the first buying power social networking application, that gives business subscribers a way to effectively launch marketing campaigns into the most popular online social networks, including facebook and Twitter.
fondalo gathers buying preference information from its subscribers to create a powerful marketing database. Business subscribers use this database to identify consumer groups within the system that are most likely interested in their offering, then they use the fondalo system to push targeted marketing campaigns into social network sites. Once inserted, the offer is spread throughout the targeted subscribers' social network. The more appealing the offer, the more virally it can spread via connecting social networks.
Consumers join fondalo for the opportunity to find bargains locally, regionally and nationally. They build a profile of their interests and join together around those interests to request deals from businesses that sell those products and services. Business subscribers can make offers to subscriber requests or make their own offers, based on non-identifying user profile data.
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Contact
fondalo, Inc.
Robert M. Caruso
503-764-1444
www.fondalo.com
Robert M. Caruso
503-764-1444
www.fondalo.com
Contact
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