HBO, Showtime, Barnes & Noble and Universal are driving tune-in and rewarding viewer loyalty via GetGlue, a mobile social network for entertainment.

These companies, along with Revision3, Thrillist, FearNet and TV Squad, have partnered with GetGlue to offer branded stickers to mobile social networkers. The stickers broadcast brand loyalty and serve as incentives for consumers to tune in to a particular show regularly.

?We rolled out Showtime-branded stickers for ?Weeds? and ?The Big C,? and Barnes & Noble is on board for a suite of stickers?probably the coolest is for the Nook,? said Fraser Kelton, vice president of business development at GetGlue, New York. ?Based on the early success of ?True Blood,? ?Entourage? and ?Hung? stickers, we?re rolling out a much bigger initiative with HBO, with new HBO-branded stickers that users can get via GetGlue.

?HBO is looking to find a way to encourage and incentivize fans to tune in during the initial airing, when a show first runs, and it allows them to engage more deeply with their Facebook and Twitter following,? he said. ?Now as the season goes on, they are able to say ?Watch tonight and look for something specific to earn a secret GetGlue sticker.?

?There are certain stickers tailored to reward users for continued engagement with the show throughout the season, and our partners have the ability to access aggregate taste information, which provides much deeper insight into the audience of their shows.?

GetGlue claims to receive more than 5 million unique ratings and check-ins for shows, movies, music and books every month.

GetGlue users check-in to their entertainment, get personalized recommendations and earn exclusive rewards from entertainment brands.

Get branded stickers
Publishers, film studios and TV networks are using mobile social networking to drive tune-in.

Revision3 is offering fan stickers via GetGlue for all of its top shows. There are also some secret stickers for "Beer," "Kevin Rose" and "Veronica Belmont."

When HBO launched stickers for True Blood, Entourage and Hung, fans loved them for their bold look and edgy names, according to GetGlue.

HBO recently launched a set of HBO personality stickers. To earn these, fans need to like various shows, characters and stars.

Showtime is back on with the premiere of Weeds and The Big C. GetGlue is offering exclusive stickers for these shows.

Barnes & Noble fans can now get a sticker for their favorite book store and also a special sticker for Nook.

In addition, many of GetGlue users have already earned a new sticker from Universal for checking into the "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" movie.

GetGlue has also launched exclusive stickers for fans of Thrillist, FearNet and TV Squad.

These and other stickers are available in both digital and physical form. After the users earns several stickers, they can order free physical copies by logging into GetGlue.com.

GetGlue for Android, mobile Web
GetGlue has launched an Android application to complement its iPhone application.

Just as with the iPhone application, Android users can check-in to their favorite shows, music, movies and books, and see what their friends are enjoying in real-time.

Check-ins earn users points and stickers from GetGlue and various brands.

The application also lets users rate their favorite shows, movies, music and books and get personalized suggestions.

The features of the GetGlue Android application let users:

? Check-in to TV shows, movies, music, games and books

? Share check-ins with their Twitter and Facebook friends

? See what their friends are currently watching, reading or listening to

? Earn leaderboard points and get stickers from GetGlue and brands

? Rate lists of shows, movies, music and books

? Get suggestions for weekly new releases and old favorites

? Take their favorite entertainment and suggestions with them

The GetGlue Android app was developed using Appcelerator?s Titanium, a cross-platform development environment designed to simplify the process of building mobile applications.

Here is a screen grab of the Android application:

GetGlue also launched a light-weight mobile Web site at http://getglue.com/mobile.

The site features basic check-in capability and is meant for users of BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and other platforms that do not yet have a native GetGlue application.

?We had not planned on doing Android right after the iPhone app, but the response from the community for Android support was nothing less than surprising?we were inundated with emails and Twitter posts for Andorid support,? Mr. Kelton said. ?There is a hugely growing community of Android users, and to ignore them would be at our own peril.

?The Android app was designed specifically to be functionally similar to the iPhone application, as it?s important to have a consistent user experience and a consistent look-and-feel to all apps that we?re going to bring across all mobile platforms,? he said. ?Appcelerator?s Titanium platform helped us to achieve that and bring the Android app to market quicker.

?We have plans to bring apps to all prominent platforms including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Palm?s WebOS, but in the meantime we wanted to give them a solution to check in from the mobile device, so we launched a light-weight mobile site that will give them check-in capability while they?re on the go.?

Final Take
Dan Butcher, associate editor, Mobile Marketer