In-Car Rewards System Designed To Promote Responsible Drinking

Would you like to be rewarded for drinking responsibly? HotelTonight and other brands are now using in-car rewards to encourage safe drinking and driving behavior with a program that combines a rewards network and a mobile app with a Bluetooth connection to a wireless smartphone Breathalyzer.

Breathometer, the makers of the first wireless and portable breath analysis platform, and Kiip, a rewards platform that targets “achievement moments” in mobile games and apps, have announced a partnership that places relevant rewards inside the Breathometer app, with an aim toward promoting responsible choices.

Breathometer’s technology provides users with the ability to monitor their blood alcohol levels. If a user blows a blood alcohol content (BAC) level over 0.04, which is halfway to the legal limit, the app offers features such as “Get Home Safe” and “Stay Nearby.” The ongoing use of the Breathometer to monitor a user’s alcohol level will trigger spontaneous rewards from brands like HotelTonight, such as $25 off a night’s stay at a nearby motel. The partnership with Kiip marks the first time that relevant sponsored content inside the Breathometer products will be selectively provided to users. The idea is that Kiip’s rewards don’t only serve as ads, but they are intended to help ensure community safety by encouraging sensible decisions by users.

“We look forward to celebrating consumers’ smart choices,” said Breathometer CEO Charles Michael Yim. “By harnessing the power of Kiip’s reward network within our Breathometer app, we can deliver relevant offers at the right moments. This allows us to engage with other brands that complement the objectives of our Breathometer products.”

The company’s intention is to make it easy for drivers to check their BAC. To start, the user blows into the Breathometer Breeze, a wireless smartphone device that transforms a mobile phone into a Breathalyzer. This action transmits the user’s BAC level to the Breathometer app on a smartphone via Bluetooth. Once the BAC results appear inside the app, a Kiip reward will sometimes appear as well.

“Together, our companies can address real-time consumer needs, demonstrating how marketers should approach advertising in connected devices,” explained Kiip CEO Brian Wong. “We’re excited that this execution will help shape the future of advertising in a way that promotes well-being.”

The partnership between Breathometer and Kiip is an interesting concept, which illustrates the breadth of potential for the many ways that marketers may approach advertising in connected cars in the future.

Kiip recently partnered with Mojio to enable the delivery of rewards during everyday driving moments in cars. In December, Kiip became the first mobile advertising platform to integrate Apple Pay, which enabled brands to make their rewards for engaging with an ad instantly redeemable. The Kiip platform delivers ads inside apps at the point when users tend to be most engaged. For example, when they have just accomplished a task, the platform will offer a reward for watching a brand video or engaging in another way. By integrating these rewards with Apple Pay, consumers are able to redeem these rewards from the ad with a single click.

Breathometer isn’t the first technological attempt to reduce drunken driving. Last year, Pernod Ricard, which is the producer of Absolut and Malibu, promoted self-regulation best practices to combat harmful alcohol consumption through a free public service mobile app. The “Wise Drinking” application allowed users to track the amount of alcohol that they consumed over four weeks. By using geolocation technology, the app considered the law that was applicable to the user’s location, and subsequently informed them of the nearest means of alternative transport.

A combined study by MPG Media Contacts and Havas Media found that brands that consumers perceive as contributing to a better quality of life and well-being have greater business success, so initiatives to combat drunken driving cannot only help to alleviate this danger, but can also serve to improve a brand’s reputation.

“Breathometer is proud to help thousands of people make more informed decisions about their lives every day,” said Breathometer CEO Charles Michael Yim. “BAC detection is more than just the number that results from a snapshot reading, and we strive to offer a holistic experience around social drinking through immediate results and easy to access safety and educational tools.”