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enables businesses to invite customers to public and
private groups where they can provide information
and messaging on the group's bulletin board, facili-
tate live chat between members and flag capability
for all members.

Company: Village Vesl • Bulletin board: Interactive bulletin boards provide
Product: Village Vesl mobile app a real-time overview of community happenings. As
the hub of Village Vesl's service, they are available to
Website: www.villagevesl.com the larger public and can be used as a springboard
Contact: bryon.evje@villagevesl.com to live chat among residents and for recommenda-
tions and announcements.
Customizable, community-based • Flags: Flags are virtual messages that can be left
anywhere. When opt-in recipients approach these
mobile marketing platform invisible flags, their devices receive the message.
Business owners can plant these flags anywhere in
the physical world to reach consumers.
tlanta-based Village Vesl created a Village Vesl • Loyalty programs: Customizable and cross-promo-
subscription service to help business owners tional loyalty solutions enable merchants to reward
drive consumer engagement within their com- repeat visitors and participate in co-branded loy-
A munities. Designed to leverage mobile tech- alty programs. Merchants can establish their own
nology and social media, the solution enables ISOs and program parameters and enable customers to earn
merchant level salespeople to brand and market localized points across the community.
services to merchants within their exclusive territories. • Community aid: Licensees can direct a percent-
The service is free to consumers; participating merchants age of their proceeds to local nonprofits on a re-
pay a monthly fee set by Village Vesl partners, the com- curring basis. Campaigns can run between one to
pany stated. "The mobile platform connects members of three months. Examples include local schools, youth
a community and builds recurring revenue streams for sports organizations and religious organizations.
our sales channel partners," stated Bryon Evje, founder
and CEO of Village Vesl. "Licensees can use the platform • Safety: This alert feature raises incident awareness
to promote commerce, loyalty and unity at a local level." of first-responder activity in the community, creat-
ing peace and helping people avoid dangerous situ-
Partner benefits ations. Participating businesses can use this feature
to help keep their communities safer. Their names
Village Vesl licensees select an exclusive territory, which are displayed on the bulletin board under a tagline
they name and brand, Evje said. They receive comprehen- that recognizes each business's support.
sive training while their territories are being developed,
which typically takes about 90 days. Evje said Village Vesl Hyper-local solution
partners have the option of selling single services or cre-
ating value-added bundles. Service offerings include the Evje said Village Vesl's mission is to provide large and
following: small communities with a mobile service that enables
• Mobile application compatible with iOS and Android residents, small businesses and local organizations to stay
connected in safe and exciting ways. He cited the follow-
• Customized mobile app development ing benefits that local merchants can derive from the ser-
• Short message service capability vice:
• Business management console • Location messaging: Merchants can plant invisible
"flags" to become discoverable to customers.
• Responsive, promotional website
• Traffic building: Merchants can communicate with
Village Vesl licensees can also use optional value-added consumers outside of their stores.
services, including branded promotional videos, logo • Expanded reach: Merchants can broadcast mobile
design, marketing recommendations and 40 hours of ap- messages within a five-mile radius of a flag.
pointment setting, he noted. • Consistent exposure: Businesses can post daily of-
Merchant benefits fers and messages on their dedicated partner screen
and bulletin board.
Village Vesl uses mobile technology and social media to
help merchants engage with customers and drive traffic to "We take a different approach to local, because we are
their stores and ecommerce websites. Following are some local, with representatives who live in the towns where
examples: they operate a Village Vesl service," he said. "These are our
• Groups: This alternative to traditional newsletters neighbors. They live in our communities, and they have a
genuine interest in what goes on in the community."
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