By SONYA HERRERA
Business Journal writer
STOCKTON — Has your loyalty to the local sports team earned you a few rewards? There is now, officially, an app for that: Tapgift, which enables sports teams and venues to lure fans to games with convenient ways to buy, share and win concessions, gifts and prizes.
One such reward recently came to a lucky fan in the form of a brand-new laptop.
This free giveaway was the result of a partnership between Tapgift and the Stockton Ports minor league baseball team. Everyone who’d checked in to the Aug. 16 Ports game via Tapgift’s free app was entered into a drawing to win a Hewlett Packard Chromebook.
David Kalman, co-founder of Tapgift, described the app as a “mobile commerce platform that enables marketers to send promotional offers that consumers buy and share on their mobile devices. It’s social, local, and mobile.”
The mobile app startup from Redwood City works out of Cafe Coop in downtown Stockton. It is currently partnered with three local teams: the Stockton Ports, Stockton Thunder hockey and San José State University’s Spartans football team.
However, the app’s potential extends well beyond sports. According to its website, Tapgift is best thought of as a “promotions network for audiences that spend time at favorite destinations,” including venues such as concert halls, theme parks and resorts.
According to Kalman, Tapgift emerged from two friends’ desire for a cold beverage — or rather, two cold beverages.
“The idea for Tapgift arose when Mack and Jeff were at a Raiders game,” said Kalman, referring to fellow co-founders Mack Cage and Jeff Cooper. “They were texting a friend in Arizona and wondered, wouldn’t it be cool if their friend could send them a beer while they were at the game in Oakland.”
Cage and Cooper brainstormed with Kalman and his former colleague Jay Singonahalli to form the basis of what Kalman describes as a “new marketing promotions channel.”
“Partners enhance loyalty and revenue with a new marketing channel that supports in-venue promotions, as well as social media and email marketing,” Kalman explained. “Tapgift turns every customer contact, whether by tweet, post, or email, into a potential sale.”
For example, say you like college football. Tapgift’s recent promotion with the San José State Spartans offered four free tickets to Aug. 28 game against the University of South Dakota. The cost? Absolutely nothing; one simply had to download the app, create an account (or sign in via Facebook) and click on the “Deals+Gifts” button. The tickets appeared, priced at $0.
But say you can’t make it to the game after all. Once bought, the tickets can be re-gifted to someone in your Friends list. Tapgift friends can be imported from Google+ and your phone; all you have to do is invite people to download Tapgift. Friends can also be added manually, enabling attendees at events to help other attendees have a great time.
Kalman does not see Tapgift as being anchored to a physical structure; rather, he sees Tapgift as being partnered with a brand that helps link fans and merchants nationwide with great deals they couldn’t access before.
“Note that we support our partners’ brands,” explained Kalman. “When a user gets a great deal at the Stockton Ports’ Banner Island Ballpark, that deal comes from the Ports ‘powered by Tapgift.’ We’re providing a marketing tool for the team, while at the same time we’re creating a network of users and venues to support regional and national promotions.”
“We are very happy with our partnership with Tap Gift,” said Stockton Ports Marketing Director Taylor McCarthy. “Over these past two seasons, they have become a staple here at Banner Island Ballpark, and our fans seem to really enjoy their services.”
Currently housed at Café Coop, a business incubator headquartered in downtown Stockton, the mobile app startup has a relatively fluid organizational structure, with each of the four-member group doing “a little bit of everything.”
“In a startup we don’t have narrowly defined job descriptions. I have a management background in media, technology, and marketing, so I tend to focus on strategy as acting CEO,” said Kalman. “Mack (Cage) also has media background in finance, analysis, and planning, so he tends to handle the money. At the same time, Mack is particularly gifted in building rapport with our partners.”
And Tapgift’s partners use the app to build rapport with their fans.
“Users get a fun mobile experience with great deals, exclusive experiences, and a new way to connect with friends, favorite teams, and brands,” said Kalman.
The app can be downloaded via the Apple iTunes store or Google Play. For more information visit tapgift.com or call (650) 257-0792.
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