Note: ‘The Integration of the Day’ is where I take two or more web services and create a HYPOTHETICAL integration. This is not an announcement or breaking news, just the thoughts of a fellow entrepreneur. I’d like to thank Charlie O’Donnell for the idea.

Today I’m proposing an integration of Foursquare with Fandango. Foursquare is a mobile application that allows users to “check in” at venues, streaming their whereabouts on Foursquare as well as on Facebook and Twitter (for more of an explanation check out this NY Times article). Foursquare has become a great customer rewards and viral marketing tool for nightlife venues, allowing me to see what my friends are doing and check out their recommendations. While Foursquare is a great social recommendation platform for venues, it is less helpful for movie suggestions. I can see when friends check in at, rate, and promote movies. Foursquare’s Facebook and Twitter  a movie theater, but not what movie they’ve seen or their thoughts on the film. An integration with Fandango would make the process of choosing a movie much easier.

User Experience: When I check in on Foursquare at a movie theater, I am given a list of movies and showtimes from Fandango to pick from. After the movie I can go to Foursquare, rate the movie and give a brief review. As I check in to films and rate them, I’d earn different badges. Frequent movie goers would receive film lover badges, while reviewers would get film critic badges. With these badges I would receive discounts on movie tickets, concessions and other related items. Friends can browse my movie list, and if they are interested can follow a link to a Fandango page where they can find nearby show times and buy tickets. My brother in California sees I checked in to see “Precious” last Friday, reads my positive review after the film, then follows the Fandango link to buy tickets.

Monetization: Social marketing is essential part of movie promotions, as individuals rely less on professional reviews and more on personal recomendations. A Foursquare/Fandango integration would allow Foursquare users to drive traffic to theaters in real-time. Foursquare’s gaming system will incentivize users to check-in at, rate, and promote films in order to earn the associated badges and discounts. Foursquare users broadcasting to their networks on the app as well as on Twitter and Facebook would be an excellent tool to drive traffic to Fandango. Discounts, gift certificates, and exclusive screenings passes could be awarded to power users to reward them for their viral marketing efforts. Fandango would see increased ticket sales as well as being rewarded with an abundance of valuable user data which they could use to more effectively market films. Foursquare would receive a fee from Fandango for every ticket purchase, as well as expanding its appeal amongst an older demographic who might not go barhopping on a Saturday night but regularly attends movies.

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your comments, so please do so below using Disqus. Send me integration suggestions at integrationoftheday@gmail.com.