ThinkTwice MC

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

After the recent recession, many local businesses across America began to close, allowing big corporations to fill the void left in their absence. These local businesses are often responsible for a great deal of county income through taxation, and therefore their closure has a big impact on local economies. In response to this dilemma, Montgomery County of Ohio started the Think Twice MC campaign in 2010. The campaign was directed in cooperation with Cox Media Group, Comtactics, and Montgomery County in an attempt to increase consumer loyalty to local businesses. Utilizing a smartphone application created by Comtactics, consumers can interactively shop at local businesses. The application allows the consumer to scan QR barcodes displayed at storefront windows, which can give the customer a chance to redeem a coupon or even be entered in a contest to win prizes such as an iPad. Scanning the barcode also engages the customer to “check-in” at the local business, both increasing social media visibility and giving the business owner customer loyalty information. The program engages the customer in the shopping process, positively increasing their attitudes towards local businesses. To increase consumer use of the application, Cox Media Group has agreed to air commercials on local television channels which reach nearly 1.2 million viewers each day. These commercials not only increase awareness of the application, but they also influence consumers buying habits as they encourage individuals to buy local products. Costing only $7,500 to produce the mobile application, other costs for the campaign are minimal as they pertain to website maintenance and promotional activities. However, revenue from local businesses covers the majority of these fees. At a price of $7,500 dollars, the campaign saw over the next year after its inception an 8.7% increase in tax revenue that resulted in over a $5 million dollar gain, meaning that the gap from before the recession had closed. This, of course, may not be exclusively from the ThinkTwice program, but based on statistical analysis, ThinkTwice’s efforts may certainly have played a role in the increase.