UK Volume 20

groupon.co.uk superbrands.uk.com Groupon Superbrands UK Annual Vol.20 things to do and putting quality businesses at the very forefront. The campaign served to remind people that no matter where they are, there is always a Groupon waiting for them to discover. Humour is firmly embedded in Groupon’s DNA, which provides great scope for quirky, fun communications. With an approach that is bold, witty and often tongue-in-cheek, Groupon likes to go against the grain to excite and inspire with refreshing stories and themes that encourage its customers to try new things. Groupon’s creative stories have included the making of the world’s most expensive burger, the first ever Gin Sauna, a portable lawn – allowing you to sunbathe anytime, anywhere – and the creation of a nail varnish infused with fizz. During the summer of 2018, Groupon focused on one of its key audiences – parents – who were looking for exciting, fun and pocket- friendly ways to keep their children entertained. The brand showcased messy, fun, chaotic and imperfectly perfect family summers through its #SummerUnfiltered social campaign. Brand Values The Groupon brand is built around the belief in great communities, specifically the belief that successful local businesses are the backbone of vibrant spaces and great neighbourhoods. It is the combination of interesting and thriving businesses coupled with people who visit frequently. Groupon celebrates experiences, everyday things that it believes makes life more meaningful. It is all about discovering new places, new products and new things to do. Groupon wants to give its customers the extra nudge that they might need to try something new whilst knowing they are supporting their local community. Groupon is building the daily habit in local commerce, offering a vast mobile and online marketplace . By enabling real-time commerce across local businesses, travel destinations, consumer products and live events, sLoppers Gan find tLe Fest a Gity Las to oJJer at tLeir fingertips Market With an international online and mobile presence, Groupon is redefining how small businesses attract and retain customers by providing them with customisable and scalable marketing tools and services to profitably grow their businesses. In turn, it is providing customers with a central online destination where they can discover and save on things to do, see, eat and buy. As the business develops, Groupon’s vision remains clear – to become the global marketplace for local services, experiences, goods and travel. Product The idea for Groupon was born from The Point, a website for organising group actions. Its goal was to help people congregate around the issues they care about and combine forces to make things happen. Only once a critical mass of people have committed to the cause, the combined force will ‘tip’ the issue to push for change. In 2008, an offshoot company developed, leveraging people’s collective bargaining power to purchase, and this became Groupon. A combination of Group and Coupon, Groupon’s belief was that pooling consumers’ buying power together, could achieve the very best savings with local businesses. Groupon’s first deal was a half-price offer for pizza at the restaurant on the first floor of its building in Chicago. By November 2018, the business had celebrated its 10th anniversary, worked with more than one million merchants, had nearly 50 million active customers worldwide, sold nearly 1.5 billion Groupons and was operating in 15 countries. Since that first deal went live, Groupon has sold more than 85 million pizza slices. Groupon’s incredible sales record doesn’t end there. To date it has sold tickets for 47 million hours of live music and been responsible for 65 million ounces of steak being served, 15 million fitness classes survived and 240 million ounces of coffee brewed. Achievements Over its lifetime, Groupon has been consistently recognised for its work. In 2011, it won the Webby Breakout of the Year award when it was still in its infancy. Then, in 2012, it received an Employees’ Choice, 50 Best Places to Work award. 2015 saw Groupon receive a Mobile Commerce Award in the Internet Retailer Excellence Awards. The following year, it was recognised as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBT in Equality and Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index. More recently, in 2018 Groupon received the Best Marketing Innovation award from Button- Performance Marketing; Best YouTube Bumper Ad from YouTube and The Webby Awards; and was also rated as the Top Six Ranked App of All Time on iOS by App Store users. Recent Developments In 2016, the one billionth Groupon was sold, putting the company amongst Apple, McDonald’s, Elvis and the Beatles as other brands that have achieved the billion-sold milestone. Amazingly, the billionth deal sold was for a local family-owned Pizzeria in St Louis, very similar to the first Groupon ever sold when the business started. This doesn’t include the national merchants, who lend household names and broad geographic coverage to the marketplace. As the marketplace has grown, so too has the Groupon app. Its 2018 ‘Top Six Ranked App of All Time on iOS’ by App Store users milestone shows the shift that the business has taken from a discounted deal email model, to a thriving marketplace where more than 80% of user traffic is on mobile. Groupon mobile apps have been downloaded 197 million times. Promotion Groupon’s recent Discover More campaign encourages people to explore their local areas and seek out new and exciting experiences all around them. The campaign was rolled out throughout Europe across television, radio, billboards, taxis and trams, showcasing quality DISCOVERMORE Save up to 70% on the things you do every day Nearly 1.5 billion Groupons have been sold puQping over US $20bn into local businesses around the world DIDYOU KNOW? Brand History 2007 The Point is launched, a tipping point-based collective action website dedicated to getting people together to accomplish a goal. 2008 An offshoot of the business, named Groupon, is formed, a site dedicated to advertising local businesses by offering deals for a limited time. The world’s first Groupon was a pizza deal for Motel Bar, located downstairs from Groupon headquarters in Chicago. 2009 Groupon sees rapid expansion across the US and around the world, now serving over 150 markets domestically and 100 more worldwide. 2010 Groupon launches its mobile app to enable the discovery of local experiences on the go. 2011 Groupon Goods and Groupon Getaways are launched, adding products and travel to the ever- growing Groupon business. 2012 Groupon moves away from the daily deal model and relaunches as a full global marketplace. 2016 Groupon hits a huge milestone – the sale of its one billionth Groupon. 2018 Groupon celebrates its 10th anniversary.