Site rewards users for ‘check-ins’ on product discussions

We’ve seen sites such as RedesignMe for collecting customers’ ideas for improving less-than-satisfying goods, and we’ve seen Hollrr, allowing satisfied customers to express their enthusiasm. Our latest spotting? The Chicken, a German site that applies a Foursquare model to product and brand discussions. Berlin-based The Chicken bills itself as a social network that lets users share their product experiences. A rating system lets them score brands and products, and they can leave comments as well. Each user gets a profile page on the site, and they can also connect as friends. Brands get pages too, and an iPhone app makes participating all the easier. What’s particularly interesting about The Chicken, though, is that it employs a location-based model much in the manner of Foursquare. Specifically, users gets credit each time they “check in” with a particular product; those with the most check-ins for that product get rewarded with elevated status. The Chicken’s name, in fact, derives from a play on the expression “to check in.” With status rewards for highly involved consumers — not to mention the chance to discover something new — and both feedback-gathering and marketing opportunities for brands, ad-supported The Chicken offers a compelling mix of benefits for both sides. One to emulate in other regions and languages? Spotted by: Lisa Neye