More Than Saving a Buck

Triple Pundit's Nick Aster wrote yesterday about Groupon's controversial Super Bowl Ads. He wonders whether Groupon has alienated a large subset of their customers because of the stunt? It's titled, "Does Groupon Think Its Customers Are Mindless?" If you haven't seen it yet, it's a great piece from Nick. Check it out here.

Nick's inclusion of Bolder in his post got us thinking (naturally), and we wanted to write up a quick response on 2 points:

1. First, he mentions "Groupon competitor, Bolder." We get that comparison a lot, which is kinda cool, since Groupon happens to be the fastest growing company ever. To us, the only similarity is that we both offer discounts. Beyond that, we are fundamentally different.

We're still figuring out the exact language around this concept, as it's still in the visionary phase. But here's how we like to think about Bolder long-term-

We're the rewards card for your life

Kind of like your Southwest Airlines Visa. With one major difference - you don't have to spend money to get rewards from companies on Bolder. You just have to do good stuff and strive for a better life. Turns out, you're already doing these things everyday!

With credit card rewards, the action of swiping the card facilitates the reward. With Bolder, your "card swipe" is you recording your great life moments on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Email, actbolder.com, etc). You're already doing this too! Think about the last post you made on any of these mediums.... probably something you were proud of or passionate about?

2. Second, Nick says, "Saving money is great, but saving money and influencing something positive in your community, or in the way a company works, is much more powerful – and will result in far greater customer loyalty in the long run."

This resonates more than anything with the Bolder Team. We're all at the beginning of something special right now. The recession has impacted us all in various ways, but at its core, a return to values is underway. An era of transparency, accountability, and real value will define which companies win and which ones lose.

We're working hard to be a big piece in that values tidal wave. Our contribution is to help you connect in a deeper and more valuable way to companies you care about. And in return, we hope you feel a deeper sense of loyalty to them, because you've connected over more than just saving a buck. You've connected on the most important level of all- your life.