CEBU-BASED startup tech company Hoy* announced it is digitizing how brands do product sampling by enhancing user and brand engagement with the app’s new quick rewards campaign.
App users can now get their rewards minutes after posting a selfie with a branded animated filter, said Hoy* Technology chief executive officer Seph Mayol.
Hoy* is a brand engagement mobile app that boosts brand awareness, created by developers Mayol and Royce Dy of Hoy Technology Asia Corp.
Unlike the traditional product sampling, which costs companies a huge investment, Mayol said that Hoy* offers an innovative way to distribute products anywhere in the country by using the reach of inter-connected phones.
The app’s first quick rewards program is a campaign from oil company Total, where it rewards free fuel (gas or diesel) to the first 3,000 users who can take a selfie with their branded filter.
Mayol said Hoy* will capitalize on the moment a user’s post is rewarded by sending an adreward (advertising + reward) notification where the brand’s advertisement, in the form of an image or video, is shown to increase reception.
“The adreward notification will answer the ever growing annoyance of pop-up ads, which disturbs everyone’s surfing experience online,” he said.
For first-time brand users, the reward will serve as a product sample while for existing users, the reward serves as a treat for their continued patronage.
Mayol said they intend to retain the brand’s identity by rewarding the user with an experience of their product and service.
“With this, your advertising would not end up as a visual reminder only but an experience that creates a relationship,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Mayol said Hoy* users will continue to enjoy its high-value rewards campaign, which provides higher-valued items to both selfies that get the most likes and selfies that will be selected by the brand at the end of the campaign period.
This will allow users who may not have a huge network, but share excellent-quality photos and interesting stories through their post, to get rewarded based on quality, he said.
“The industry is shifting from an advertising-driven market to one controlled by the consumers. This is the main reason why the online marketplace model is so powerful,” he noted.
Hoy* was launched in 2016 and is free for iOS and Android users.
Mayol said this mobile platform will enable brand makers or companies to monitor the matrix of users and help companies evaluate if their brands are working well in the market.
“Brands are subtly being promoted in film appearances or television. With the advent of social media, companies are now looking for more channels to boost brand awareness using new platforms,” said Mayol.
Download the app here: hoyrewards.com