Behavioural economics is something that numerous online and mobile platforms have tried to corner in the recent past. Rewarding people for their behaviour and engaging with them in order to encourage loyalty is something that Foursquare, SCVNGR and many other startups are already doing. Kiip are one of the most hotly tipped companies in this sector at the moment.

Kiip.me

You might have heard people talking about an iPhone app called ‘the Heist’ recently. It overtook Angry Birds as the most downloaded game on the App Store in late May – selling over 500,000 copies in just one week. It helps that the game is great – addictive and smart. It also helps that there are rewards for taking part in, and completing the game. You can win an iPad. When you complete the game, you win another game.

Rewards are big business. A 2010 survey by CoTweet and ExactTarget showed that 40% of people were motivated to ‘like’ a brand or page on Facebook by the promise of discounts and promotions. That’s what Kiip are aiming for. Their platform allows brands and advertisers to offer real life rewards for virtual achievements. So imagine if you get three stars on that particularly tricky level on Angry Birds – and next thing a reward screen appears telling you that you’ve won a free chapter or excerpt from an upcoming book or an invite to a reading near you. Those types of rewards are hugely beneficial when it comes to generating a feeling of goodwill towards a brand. They’re also seeing redemption rates far ahead of the usual rates for mobile ads.

Coming up tomorrow – Instagram

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Eamonn Carey is a digital media entrepreneur and consultant who lives in London. He’s worked on digital, social and mobile strategies and applications with companies like 3, O2, Diageo and many others. If you want to know more about Eamonn’s work, or if you’re interested in talking to him about consultancy or ideas, feel free to contact him at his website. He also has an idea for a book if anyone is interested. But then, who doesn’t.