Be a First Mover in the Bitcoin Back Rewards Space with Lolli

Created in 2009, bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that requires no middleman or banks, can be used anonymously, and isn’t tied to any country—it’s operated by a decentralized authority, unlike government-issued currencies. Much of the hype around bitcoin is from those who buy bitcoins as an investment, hoping that they’ll go up in value.

A digital currency with no physical form is a lot to digest as a concept—let alone participate in—but Lolli, a rewards website and browser extension that provides cash back to users in the form of bitcoin, is on a mission to change that by making it easy for everyone to earn, save, and share bitcoin.

We caught up with Alex Adelman, CEO and Co-Founder of Lolli to learn more about crypto-back marketing, what their “bitcoiner” audience looks like, and the importance of education and accessibility for this futuristic currency.

Alex Adelman, CEO and Co-Founder, Lolli

CJ: First up, where did the name Lolli come from?

Alex: When I was young, my dad would take my sister and me to the bank. I never liked going to the bank, but always looked forward to the lollipop at the end. I believe bitcoin is the bank of the future and all that's missing is Lolli.

CJ: Can you explain the concept of crypto-back marketing?

Alex: Bitcoin back is very similar to cash back, except instead of giving people cash, we give people bitcoin while educating them on the power and importance of this new global currency. We launched Lolli in 2018 as a way to make bitcoin more easily accessible to all and further the democratization of commerce.

CJ: How does this differ from other loyalty models in affiliate?

Alex: Lolli differs in our unique user base, value proposition, and branding opportunities for our partners. Lolli has created the easiest onramp for bitcoin allowing any US consumer (and soon global consumer) to have the ability to earn when they shop online at one of our 1,000+ partner sites. Our users are well-educated, savvy shoppers and are willing to change their shopping behavior to earn bitcoin over anything else. This is a fast-growing, loyal, and global audience.

• User Base: By offering bitcoin back incentives, Lolli has captured a growing audience of both bitcoin loyalists and novice bitcoiners that represent the next generation of shoppers (age 18-35). These users value convenience, mission-based brands with high-quality product offerings, making them a valuable customer to our brand partners. The appeal of bitcoin lends itself to our user base being predominantly male (70% currently) which gives advertisers access to male millennial shoppers that they may not be reaching otherwise. Although 30% female may seem low for the affiliate space, we are one of most active bitcoin projects for female users and we are continuing to see new female users join the platform to shop from our partners for all of their online shopping needs from apparel, electronics, fitness, and home essentials.
• Value Proposition: The ability to make earning and owning bitcoin as simple as purchasing a new pair of sneakers or office supplies broadens the access and gives everyone the opportunity to own a piece of this finite global asset. With only 21M bitcoins available, bitcoin previously was just for those that had the means and ability to invest in or mine bitcoin.

• Branding Opportunities: By partnering with Lolli, brands have the ability to be positioned as a forward thinking, leading merchant without changing their business model or any other components of their business. On the back end, the relationship is run just as any other publisher and Lolli handles all bitcoin components. Our users love seeing new brands join Lolli as they not only see it as an additional opportunity to earn on their purchase, but also representing mass bitcoin adoption. As a result of this excitement, our users actively share their earnings on their social channels, featuring our merchant partners with organic user generated content. 

The ability to make earning and owning bitcoin as simple as purchasing a new pair of sneakers or office supplies broadens access and gives everyone the opportunity to own a piece of this finite global asset.

CJ: What type of consumers are using crypto-back loyalty systems?

Alex: Lolli is currently US only with plans to expand internationally in the coming year. We have a young, affluent, and savvy millennial shopper, whose purchase decision is motivated by where they can earn the most bitcoin back. Our current user breakdown is 70% male / 30% female allowing our brand partners to reach a unique customer base that traditionally isn’t using other reward or loyalty programs. Our users love creating memetic content around our partners and talking about where they’re earning the most bitcoin.

CJ: Why should advertisers seek and partner with crypto-back loyalty platforms?

Alex: Lolli is the leading platform for bitcoin back earning. By partnering with Lolli, brands get to be a first mover in the bitcoin back rewards space while taking on zero risk. Lolli gives partners access to a growing user base of active shoppers that are looking to earn on all of their purchases—from flights to mattresses to groceries.

As a young and growing start-up, Lolli has the ability to test out of the box offering with our partners and make sure that what we are offering them helps hit their goals of acquiring new customers and driving incremental revenue.

We create a lot of custom branded content around our top advertisers and feature them on YouTube, Twitter, IG, Facebook, etc.

CJ: What techniques do you use to prevent fraud?

Alex: As with all cash back or bitcoin back offerings, fraud is a reality that can’t be avoided but can be discouraged. We do everything possible to prevent fraudulent activity by having a 60-90 day payout period to ensure only orders that are commissioned provide a bitcoin back reward; removing bad actors from our platform as soon as they are identified—we have a one strike policy, monitoring user shopping behavior in real-time with our advanced fraud detection algorithm; and are continuing to roll out additional tools and alerts to identify suspicious activity as fast as possible. 

CJ: How does Lolli use the CJ platform and services to make your company successful?

Alex: Lolli uses the CJ platform by leveraging their great brand partnership and technology resources to easily onboard and partner with our advertising partners. We work closely with the team to identify potential new partners. After launching new advertisers, we leverage CJU, the CJ team, and our direct relationships from our years at Ebates, ShopStyle, PopSugar, Cosmic, and now Lolli to optimize partnerships further, test new initiatives, and plan for future product features.

Our team also leverages various APIs to pass data from the CJ network to our internal systems and we rely on CJ tracking to provide us with user purchase behavior that powers our rewards.

We love working with the CJ team and our partnerships that are powered through CJ are some of our most successful advertisers!

CJ: As a leading affiliate in crypto-back loyalty marketing, where do you see the industry in the next five years?

Alex: Lolli is leading the way of mainstream adoption of bitcoin and we’ve barely scratched the surface. Other platforms will offer in-app rewards or tokens, but we are the leader in our field and plan to continue building and educating the world about bitcoin. Currently, we are only operational in the US. We plan to expand internationally in the next year—giving anyone in the world with an internet connection, the opportunity to earn and own bitcoin.

Thanks, Alex!  🍭

Lolli gives users free bitcoin or cash when they shop at over 1,000 top stores. Interested in partnering with Lolli? Contact partnerships@lolli.com