Blyk, a free mobile service targeted at 16-24 year olds in Europe, has recently announced their expansion beyond their test markets in the UK, Germany and France. The company provides free minutes and text messages to its users, and in exchange they receive ads from marketers. The ads are targeted based on the profile of the user.
If you remember, this is the model that Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google talked about in November 2006 that got the whole world buzzing. Blyk has been so well received that they reached their initial subscriber goals of 100,000 users six months ahead of schedule.
Here is a short overview movie from Blyk that explains the whole process.
It is only a matter of time before this model comes to the US (though the way our mobile infrastructure is set up it will be much harder to gain the same level of traction). This does however, seem to be a fairly easy way for marketers to reach a targeted audience in a permission-based environment on a mobile device.
Heck, I could see the potential for a very small handful of global marketers try this on their own using this the MVNO model. MVNOs lease parts of a network from a major carrier and re-brand it as a new service. Examples of MVNOs include Virgin Mobile, mobileESPN, Firefly and Amp'd.
What are your thoughts on this model? Would you receive ads for mobile minutes? As a marketer, would you be interested in participating in something like this?
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advertising, Google, marketing, Matt Dickman, mobile, Techno//Marketer, technology, trends, MVNO
Matt,
The 18 - 24 demographic likely will exchange advertising for free minutes. I doubt that many over 35 will. It's a matter of economics that doesn't have much to do with marketing or advertising. Before I recommended this kind of advertising to a client (assuming my client's ideal customers fit into the demographic), I would want to hear what the ads sound like and I would want to gether data on how those hearing the ads respond to them. Good post!
Posted by: Lewis Green | Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10:03 AM
It depends...am I getting more minutes to throw away? Then, no. The phone company, the cable company and the newspaper man already give me stuff I don't need to justify overcharging me for the stuff I do want/need. Reduce the cost of my monthly bill and we'll talk.
Thanks for the post, Matt. I was just thinking last night about advertisements via Twitter. And with Twitter linked to a phone, it's a natural extension of what you posted.
Posted by: Scott Hepburn | Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10:45 AM
This seems like a useless strategy. Sure, I'd take free minutes and, in exchange, receive advertisements. But there's not much between my thumb and the "delete" button. Let's be honest: I'd probably have trashed it before my eyes even scanned the message. As we in the post-advertising age say, "The only messages anyone will see and hear are the messages they choose to see and hear."
Fin.
Posted by: postadvertina/sleeping in my party dress | Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 05:47 PM
Great post Matt.
I think there might be a terminology problem with the good old rusty term "ADS" here. I believe there is a common tendency to associate the word "ADS" with "irrelevant, disruptive, stuff pushed in my general direction... going to trash one way or another".
Now "if" you consider the MMS and text messages to be "honest, relevant, well targeted INFORMATION on products with an ADDED VALUE for the receiver", this makes a lot of sense. It becomes a win-win operation, BUT, IMHO, completely linked to the AUTHENTICITY and NATURE of the messages sent.
This is exactly what they pinpoint in their commercial "... they are not just adverts", I just hope they stick to it.
Posted by: Luc Debaisieux | Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 05:46 PM
I first heard about Blyk well over a year ago. I haven't seen any figures about how it's going in UK or Germany and it's been below the line promotion. Does anyone have details of how successful it has been? The concept is great, but proof would be good.
Posted by: Campbell Scott | Tuesday, July 08, 2008 at 03:47 AM
Lewis -- Thanks for the comment. I agree that the age demographic is pretty limited, but if your client was trying to reach them it would be an interesting play.
postadvertina -- You are right, the ability to delete is as easy as ever. I think within that demographic (think low pay or no pay jobs) it could work to enable anyone to get a phone.
Luc -- I hope they stick to it too. When the ads add value they stops being annoying and become welcomed pieces of information.
Campbell -- I'll keep an eye on this and let you know if I see anything.
Posted by: Matt Dickman | Wednesday, July 09, 2008 at 09:23 PM
This model (with a significant twist) has just been launched in the U.S. It's called Sayso and instead of receiving minutes in exchange for receiving ads, subscribers receive cash that they can keep or donate to charity. The kicker? Subscribers choose how much they're paid for each message they receive.
Check it out at: http://www.saysomobile.com
Posted by: Drew Jones | Friday, October 10, 2008 at 12:21 AM