US: Office Depot rewards students for putting down the device
We all know how distracting our devices can be to our personal and professional lives. Head-down screen time interferes with our social interactions, our home lives, our driving- and, if you're a student, with your ability to successfully leverage your college learning experience. College students in particular are more distracted than ever, spending 20 percent of class time using digital devices for unrelated activities, according to a 2013 University of Nebraska-Lincoln study. A new partnership with Office Depot Inc. and mobile app Pocket Points aims to change that dynamic.
The news: Office Depot Inc. last week announced it is the sole national school and office supply retailer with Pocket Points, an app that rewards students for refraining from using their phones during class and offers savings with retailers. Money quote from Diane Nick, senior VP of marketing for Office Depot:
Office Depots exclusive partnership with Pocket Points furthers our commitment to finding new and innovative ways to help students utilize technology to succeed in the classroom. This is a win-win for users of the app and our company to reach students on this popular platform. In addition to helping students maintain good classroom habits throughout the year, Office Depot wants to provide them with access to savings on the gear they need to succeed.
When students open the app on campus and lock their phones, they start earning points that can be redeemed directly through the app or online to save money on school and dorm supplies online at officedepot.com. Office Depot will be available in 45 of Pocket Points markets. Earning points for listening in class - there's a joke in there somewhere about Millennials' expectations for being rewarded for activities that we olds simply took for granted.
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