The Role of Rewards Programs Re-Examined as Siren School Adds Social Media Activity to the Membership Mix

Los Angeles, CA, June 09, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Most schools tend to frown upon students spending time tweeting and posting in lieu of studying. Not so at Siren School, the fantasy camp company whose tutelage encompasses mermaids, flappers, wood nymphs, genies, courtesans and other siren archetypes. The moment students enroll, they are encouraged to visit all their socializing sites in order to earn free tuition and merchandise.

Nonprofits, credit card companies and corporations have been enticing donors, members and customers for as long as they’ve been around. Each party leans on the other in a pas de deux of perqs and patronage. Siren School is now engaging in more of a Virginia reel, extending student/school relationship to their pupil’s social circle via its cheekily named PLUNDER! program (Pupils Looting Unrestrained 'N' Deriving Enriching Rewards).

In short, participants can garner merchandise, gift certificates, spa treatments, themed glamour photo sessions, tea parties, event tuition, passage on a Pirates Caribbean Cruise & Treasure Hunt and so on. This is done by "liking" Facebook pages, suggesting blog post topics, submitting content to their online la Vie Sirene magazine, joining their socializing groups on BigTent, attending events, and about fifty other activities. The reason for all of this is simple: to keep costs down.

Joy de Vivre, Siren School’s headmistress explains the program’s rationale. “We are keenly aware of the tenuous state of the economy as it struggles to pull itself up by its bootstraps. Many people are done with depriving themselves and want to begin ‘living a little’ again, but finances keep them from doing much. We’ve been told time and again that our fantasy camps and theme events are surprisingly affordable. This is not just a result of laborious research on our part. It is also thanks to the internet and social media, where businesses can start blogs, create fan pages and manage video channels, literally for free. Not only has it turned traditional advertising on its head, but turned the company/consumer relationship inside out.”

As more and more companies turn to and hire social media specialists, the web’s playing field is becoming more competitive and sophisticated. The coupons, deals and discounts most of us have grown up with will have to follow suit, or be left on the clearance shelf.