buy local, help local
Localize
Project objective: Each team will endeavor to plan and develop an interactive system that relies on gamification to inform and guide how the system operates to meet the needs of a particular user group that is challenged to learn a given array of topic-specific material
Group: six
Role: Front-end research, design, and ideation
Localize strives to build up local businesses and give back to the Denton community. While the chamber of commerce works to bring those small businesses into Denton, many of those businesses fail due to lack of advertising, poor placement, or large commercial stores and chains running them out of business. Our goal is to prevent that from happening by giving these local run shops an advantage. Localized will increase foot traffic through the use of coupons and featured items. These two components paired with gamification aspects will increase the popularity of these store, therefore encouraging small businesses to come to Denton.
The City of Denton has great small-town charm without being as disconnected as some small towns which makes this town unique. While large corporations can be easy there is nothing like local shopping, so in order to help preserve the cute small-town boutiques and chill coffee shops there need to be an incentive to shop there. This is where Localize comes in. We want to help preserve the personality local shops give Denton and save the jobs the businesses give the community; all while having fun and giving back to the community.
“(Denton) has a small town mentality, but because of the two universities there is a lot of diversity. The people are very friendly and are eager to help you out. If you want to feel the big metropolis then drive 30 minutes south to either Fort Worth or Dallas. There are also some great places to eat and good activities for the whole family.”
“Denton is definitely a
family-friendly place. It is nice to walk inside a public store and be greeted rather than ignored. And to be honest, not everywhere is like that. Another thing about this city is that it is very diverse. Once again, if you were to walk into a public store you would see many different people and at the same time feel greatly welcomed.”
Local shopper
Mona McNealson
24, Denton TX
Who is Mona?
Mona McNealson is a single mother living in Denton Tx. She has lived in Denton for all her life and doesn’t plan on leaving because of the amazing community there is here. Mona works as an administrative assistant at UNT and enjoys her job. Mona’s son’s name is Matt and he is her main priority in life. Mona had Matt when she was 19 and while her family supported her Matt’s father did not, so he is not a part of either of their lives. Mona is an avid runner, movie lover, and connoisseur of live music. Her favorite things to do in Denton are get coffee, shop at the boutiques on the square, and see what’s new at the farmers’ market.
Motivations
promotion
teamwork
impact
social pressure
User journey
Mona is going to get her morning coffee from Aura , but feels bad for the amount of money she spends every month on this habit. Mona thinks of all the things she could be spending that money on and decides that she can only do it once a week from now on.
Mona enters Aura where the cashier tells her about how she can save money with the new app Localize. Mona downloads the app and finds an Aura 10% off coupon that will grow to 30% as she spends more and adds it to her saved coupons.
Mona goes back up to the cashier and he scans her coupon. Mona grabs her coffee and leaves to go to work. Since she is saving money Mona is able to keep coming more than once a week thanks to Localize!
Local Business
Burger Time Machine
Denton TX
Motivations
promotion
teamwork
impact
social pressure
What is Burger Time Machine ?
Burger Time Machine is a family friendly
restaurant and a denton staple that has been around for many years. The mission at Burger Time Machine is to serve the biggest burgers in Texas which are made fresh daily!
The owner of Burger Time Machine is Jerry Jenson, who is a long time Denton resident and burger lover. Jerry is 72 and has been in Denton for 60 of those years. Jerry has watched as other small businesses have come and gone and is willing to try anything if it means more people will get to enjoy his fine meat products. Jerry’s favorite place in Denton is Gnome cones.
User journey
A Burger King opens up next to Burger Time Machine and Jerry can see business slowing. In order to get help Jerry goes to talk to a city employee to see if they have anything that can help him.
Jerry is told about the new app the city is implementing for local businesses called Localize, which he was told would help increase foot traffic by giving coupons on the app and he agrees to be a part of the app.
After the app being in place for three weeks Jerry has seen an increase in traffic and return customers. With the help of Localize Jerry and his business are now stable.
City of Denton Employee
Ben Buchanan
31, Denton TX
Who is Ben?
Ben is an extremely gregarious, happy-go-lucky human person who uses the pronouns he and him. Ben is currently working for the city of Denton as the small business liaison, so his job is to get more small businesses to come and stay in his fine city. Ben loves to party and is busy every weekend. Some of ben’s favorite places in town are Cool Beans, Andy’s Bar, and Dix Coney Island, because who doesn’t love a good party and a good meal to follow.
Motivations
promotion
teamwork
impact
social pressure
User journey
As the small business liaison for the city of denton Ben works to try and find tools to help local businesses. Ben was approached by the team that created Localize about adding denton businesses to the app.
In order to see if the app would help Denton Ben goes to a neighboring town that uses Localize to see if it helps the businesses there and finds that the app really helps.
Ben decides to implement the app in Denton and after getting all the businesses that want to be a part of it to sign up the app in launched. After three weeks most local businesses see an increase in foot traffic and return customers.
Localize rewards
Plant a tree in your name
Once a year we will take the top ten winners and let them choose their awards. For the first reward we have partnered with Keep Denton Beautiful to plant half an acer of trees in your name.
Give to a local food bank
This will give back to our community by
making denton beautiful, as well as making a contribution to our environment. For the second reward you can choose to help Denton’s homeless or jobless.
Help a local charity
By giving to the local food bank. The third Reward wpuld be to choose to give a
portion of our procedes to the charity of your choice.
Shop local help
your Community
Localize lets shoppers get discounts based on the amount of money they spend as well as save up their points and compete for opportunities to give back to their community. They give back by using a rewards system that has three different options, helping the environment, the homeless, or giving to a charity of their choice.
Get points
Get points for every dollar you spend at one of the participating local Denton businesses. These points earn you both coupons and rewards for you to save money and give back.
Save money
Using the coupon feature of our app you can save money at participating businesses. The more points you earn the more money you save.
Compete
Compete with the people in your community to earn the ability to give back. The top ten people with the most points at the end of the year will get to give back to the community in their name.
Find, save, support
By being given coupons to each of these local participators, users of the community will be much more likely to visit these places and will therefore increase foot traffic and businesses for the owner. With our home page, its easier to find local business’s you never knew of. Save money while doing it, with local discounts available to users. You know exactly where your money is going.
Give back and compete
Through our app users would be able to use their rewards for shopping locally to give back to our community. The individuals gaining the rewards would also be able to have their donations made in their name and would get credit for their help to the community. Competing in new way, who can give back the most? You and others can compete on who will plant the most trees, provide meals to those in need or even donate
to charity. With our points system you'll be able to give back in a new way.
Discover
Our Maps page shows different new, popular, and close businesses through the use of maps. It will also allow users
to search for the type of services they need and compare them to big corporate businesses and chains.
