On the Level: The American Express/LevelUp Partnership

By PYMNTS | June 13, 2011

Name: Chris Mahl

Title: SVP and Chief Brand Alchemist

Company: SCVNGR/LevelUp

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What I’m working on now… Extending payments and deals into something that causes consumers to fall into a happy, ongoing relationship with brands and merchants and causes brands to experience more consumer connection, brand value and lifetime value with their targeted consumers while building loyalty.

What problem I am solving by doing it… Brand degradation through discounting, consumer disloyalty, consumer over marketing and exhaustion.

My crowning achievement is… Among the several IPO’s and acquisitions I have been core to and lucky to be a part of. Commercially, the best is yet to come. In terms of real life, my daughter’s statement, “I have the coolest Dad.”

When I go shopping, my preferred method of payment is… (cash, credit card, PayPal, mobile app, etc) each of these at times, but something that is organized for me and keys off of a relationship.

I think the next big thing for daily deals businesses is… Beyond the daily deal, a new model all together.

Cash is… For the treasury.

Merchant loyalty programs are… Ready to work on a consumer-loved scale.

eCommerce is… A part of the consumers “buy” cycle forever and moving and changing.

Mobile commerce is… Extend into simpler, easier and clearer experiences for all of us, even reversing the center of money.

Social commerce will… Bring personalization into collective models, generate social benefits, accelerate connections,and continue to change the structure of computing socially.

The most important thing to consumers is… Quality, relevance and individuality.

My mentor is/I’ve learned from my mentor… Snoopy.. .to always have a mission and bring along a yellow bird.

Bio: As the SVP and Chief Brand Alchemist at SCVNGR/LevelUp, Chris is in charge of using SCVNGR’s mobile gaming engine and LevelUp’s daily deal transaction process to drive brand loyalty and social-engagement. More specifically, Chris produces location-based social media brand campaigns with SCVNGR’s powerful platform and generates sales and repeat business for brands with LevelUp’s seamless redemption model. Chris has deployed SCVNGR and LevelUp for organizations like Coke, National Geographic, GameStop, Warner Bros., 7–Eleven, SUBWAY, Levi’s, and American Express. Prior to joining the SCVNGR team, Chris led sales, marketing and business development teams at juggernauts like Rightmedia Yahoo!, Informatica and salesforce.com.