Happy New Year, Cause Marketing! Love, SCVNGR

Starting yesterday in Times Square Massachusetts-based SCVNGR teamed up with teen clothing retailer American Eagle on a New Year’s program aiming to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

This location-based cause marketing program asks consumers to complete challenges on SCVNGR to raise cash for BBBS. Such challenges include “2010 was…” and players are asked to describe their year, “Spot the Eagle,” which asks them to snap a picture with the eagle on the Times Square billboard and “What’s your resolution,” which asks for 2011 resolutions.

After you complete a challenge, American Eagle donates five bucks to BBBS, which SCVNGR will match.

This is a great test for SCVNGR at the epicenter of location-land, New York City. Times Square has been a test tube for other LBS experiments, and American Eagle is a natural as it woos teens and young adults.

Outside of major cities and social media conferences, LBS seems to be progressing slowly, especially for cause marketing.

I'd love to hear of more examples location-based cause marketing if you have them! I'm dedicating a whole chapter in Cause Marketing for Dummies to LBCM and I'm determined to make it a useful resource to you!

On a separate note, Mike Schneider and Aaron Strout are writing Location-Based Marketing for Dummies and looking for great examples of businesses using Foursquare, Gowalla, SCVNGR and other services.

Keep your eyes peeled and Mike, Aaron and me in mind!