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Online reward network Swagbucks has just agreed to acquire SodaHead an online polling widget company for an undisclosed amount. The deal is part of Swagbucks’ ever expanding effort to offer rewards for any sort of consumer behavior online. Though the company already had a survey feature, SodaHead’s polling distribution within publishers like ABC News, ESPN, Good Morning America, and FOX News will give Swagbucks a leg up, not to mention SodaHead's tech.
“We feel like there is a lot of synergy,” said Josef Gorowitz, founder and President of Prodege, Swagbucks' parent company. “The big focus is to take the polling software and allow other publishers to tap into it. Maybe taking our rewards and expanding that to polling solutions across the web.”
Gorowitz said the polling feature tends to work best on “any content based sites that engages users with news and opinions.” SodaHead’s polling is already gamified with points and Gorowitz envisions the possibility of bringing Swagbucks into the widget.
And though Swagbucks already has a survey feature Gorowitz said, “SodaHead has a superior technology in terms of consumers being able to create polls.”
Currently Swagbucks offers rewards for consumers to engage in their content in any number of ways including a search engine, a discount shopping site, an app download site, a video and news site, a survey site, a special offers site, credit card and so-called paid accelerator program that boosts member rewards.
“Our sweet spot is females ages 25 to 45, often budget-conscious moms. For them it is an opportunity to have a good time and stretch their budget,” said Gorowitz.
The rewards network offers advertisers a means to engage potential customers in a less intrusive more interactive way not offered by classic advertising.
“The relationship between the advertisers and consumers is really at a higher level because of the reward,” said Gorowitz. Since it was founded, Swagbucks has given out $68 million in rewards, $18 million of which has been awarded in the last six months. There are 11 million registered Swagbucks members.
And because of the multiple ways Swagbucks members can earn rewards, “advertisers have the ability to talk to the consumer at different points,” said Gorowitz. While Swagbucks competitors like RetailMeNot and Coupons.com may be focused on the point of sale, “we are focused on the entire consumer lifecycle, engaging the consumer from the couch all the way to the checkout.”
Swagbucks said it has been profitable for a number of years and in 2013 its revenue was $53 million. It recently raised a $60 million Series A round to expand upon that success.
