Westfield Les Quatre Temps & Westfield La Part Dieu partner with WhatRocks™ to test “Drive to store for Good”
This November, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is testing an innovative “Drive to Store for Good” service offered by WhatRocks™ at Westfield Les 4 Temps and Westfield La Part Dieu. These two destinations will thank clients for their visit with digital currency called Rocks™ for them to donate to their charities of choice.
What is WhatRocks and how does it work?
WhatRocks is a mobile wallet for good sponsored by brands which allow users to make donations to charities of their choice. The principle is simple: brands automatically credit the wallet of WhatRocks users with fixed value digital currency called Rocks whenever users are geolocated in their stores and restaurants or whenever users watch or click on their WhatRocks-labeled ads across the web.
Thanks to these Rocks, users make donations to their charities of choice from the list available in their WhatRocks wallet. Charities sell their Rocks against actual Euros or Dollars to brands that reuse these Rocks to reward users who will come and visit their stores, and who will watch or click on their next WhatRocks™-labeled advertising campaign on the Internet.
Leading brands and charities support WhatRocks including L’Oréal, Clarins, Nestlé, LVMH, Médecins Sans Frontières, The Jane Goodall Institute and Epic Foundation.
In this circular giving economy, 100% of the donations (1) are paid to charities with no fees and no commissions since WhatRocks transactions are processed in peer to peer through the blockchain with no intermediary. WhatRocks claims its transactions generate less carbon emissions than Visa card transactions as they are processed through the Stellar blockchain protocol (2).
To open their free WhatRocks account, users just need to download the WhatRocks app on their mobile and activate location services.
Launching the URW x WhatRocks POC: URW sponsors its visitors in two French centres
In November, Westfield Les 4 Temps and Westfield La Part-Dieu will partner with WhatRocks to reward visitors financially with Rocks when they come and visit their shopping centres. This initiative aligns the business need to support foot traffic in shopping centres with the CSR strategy Better Places 2030.
Concretely, during November, visitors are encouraged to open their free WhatRocks account with referral code LES4TEMPS (for Westfield Les 4 Temps) or LAPARTDIEU (for Westfield Lyon Part-Dieu) to earn 250 Rocks at sign up for them to donate. In addition, WhatRocks users will also earn 1000 Rocks when they check in with the app in the participating centres (3).
WhatRocks innovative model is an interesting leverage to create synergies. The model is based on a “triple-win” approach:
– Visitors are empowered financially to make direct donation to the causes that matter to them
– Charities generate new sources of revenues
– Shopping centres give further purpose to visits and create additional positive impact
“As they consider that most brands fail to bring irrefutable, objective and concrete evidence of their commitment to society and the environment, 79% of consumers (4) suspect brands of greenwashing or purpose washing. WhatRocks™ gives URW the unique opportunity to eliminate that risk by giving money directly to consumers for them to donate to their charities of choice. We are delighted to see a global leader like URW share our vision that combines profit and purpose and we couldn’t be prouder to launch this initiative in world premiere with such an engaged and innovative company!” – Njara Zafimehy, President-Founder of WhatRocks Foundation
(1) Excluding blockchain fees
(2) https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2018/04/13/poseidon-with-stellar-blockchain-to-reduce-carbon-footprint/
(3) One rewarded visit per day while supplies last
(4 ) Edelman « In brands we trust » (2019)