Warner Bros. has partnered with Murphy USA, a national gas station and convenience store chain co-located at Walmart, to use Whrrl as the main focus of their social media campaign for the movie “Due Date.”

When customers check in on Whrrl at one of Murphy’s 1,200-plus locations, they have the chance to win movie tickets, concession cash and other Due Date-related prizes. Murphy just surveyed its customers using Whrrl and found that 44 percent of users checking-in were shopping at the convenience chain for the first time. A whopping 85 percent chose Murphy over a nearby competitor.

“Due Date is a film about a soon-to-be-father forced to hitchhike cross-country with an aspiring actor in order to make it to his child’s birth on-time,” said Heather Meeker, director of PR and marketing at Pelago, makers of Whrrl, Seattle.

“Because Murphy USA is a well-known nationwide gas station located in the heart of America, it was a natural tie-in to have Due Date-related prizes – including movie tickets and concession cash – offered at Murphy USA when customers check in on Whrrl,” she said. 

“Not only will customers learn about Due Date upon check in, they can also virally share if they win a prize to their networks on Facebook and Twitter.”

Murphy and Whrrl
With this campaign Murphy is redefining what it means to be a gas station.

The questions it’s asking is, “Why can’t fueling up be fun?”

Murphy partnered with Whrrl a while back for its first promotion. The gas station gave consumers the chance to win $50 worth of free gas – when their customers checked in on Whrrl while at the pump.

That program was highly successful with 44 percent of users checking-in were shopping at the convenience chain for the first time. And 85 percent chose Murphy over a nearby competitor.

 When customers check in on Whrrl at Murphy, they are immediately accepted into the Murphy USA Society, which brings together people who are passionate about the brand to make and share recommendations with each other.

Each check-in and Murphy-based recommendation will earn a customer additional chances to win.

In other words, the most socially loyal customers have the best chances to win.

Loyalty
Brands can determine loyalty based on these recommendations and see who the top members of their Society are.

The more people check in on Whrrl at Murphy and leave great recommendations, the more they level up in their Society.

And the higher a person levels up, the more Murphy understands exactly who their most loyal customers are.

So, it is not just about check-ins. It is about a person’s overall influence.

“This is an integrated campaign,” Ms. Meeker said. “Murphy USA’s location-based social loyalty program is through Whrrl.

“In addition, Collective Bias is helping Murphy USA power promotions on mobile and social platforms such as giveaways via text messaging and the Murphy USA Facebook page.”