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Cell phone advertising firm Blyk recently launched an operator service in the Netherlands. It has announced that it has joined hands with Vodafone and will be operating on its network. If you remember, it signed a similar deal with Orange some time back. Experts think that this partnership signals the recovery of the mobile advertising market which was affected to some extent due to the recession.
Blyk sends targeted mobile ads to its subscribers in exchange for free call minutes and free text messages. It calls itself a ‘mobile network for young people’ and targets people aged 16-29. People who subscribe to the service will get targeted ads from various brands including Nike, McDonald’s, Electronic Arts, and more. They will, in exchange, get free talk time and SMS credit.
Blyk has also announced that it is interested in fast growing markets and its next launch, not surprisingly, will be in India. Entering India, a country with more than 300 million mobile users, can be a great opportunity for the company to grow. The company already has an office in Delhi. While it has not revealed any further details, it is said that the launch could happen pretty soon.
Blyk, as some of you might already be aware of, is known for its highly targeted mobile advertising campaigns. If the response rates of its campaigns in the past are anything to go by, it can be said that it will be just as big a success in the Netherlands as it is in the UK. Let’s wait and watch, shall we?
Tags: Blyk, Cell Phone Advertising, free text messages, McDonalds, mobile ads, mobile advertising, mobile advertising campaigns, mobile users, Netherlands, Nike, Orange, response rates, Vodafone
Technorati Tags: Blyk, Cell Phone Advertising, free text messages, McDonalds, mobile ads, mobile advertising, mobile advertising campaigns, mobile users, Netherlands, Nike, Orange, response rates, Vodafone
Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Blyk.
Alright people. For one last time, one freaking last time, I’ll try to clarify some of the most common misconceptions about mobile advertising.
What is mobile advertising?
It’s time to come out of the cave, pal. Even my granny knows about it. Mobile advertising is nothing but ads on your mobile phone – as simple as that.
Oh dear god, why do they send me ads?
To help you take part in the space research program sponsored by the NASA. Okay; I’m kidding. Ads on mobile phones serve the same purpose as ads on TV, magazines, newspapers, radio, and the internet. All these ads want to sell you something.
Ugh; can you explain further?
Sure I can. You see, you take your mobile phone with you no matter where you go, don’t you? You get ads on TV, you see ads on magazines and newspapers, and you have ads all over the internet. However, there is a fundamental difference between these ads and mobile ads. The response rate for the former is not so impressive. The reason is – you can always skip those ads. You can change the channel during an ad break, you can simply overlook an ad in a magazine, and you can easily block ads in the internet using your browser. However, with mobile phones, the response rate is very high as people will surely check out text messages and attend calls. In other words, an ad on a mobile phone will never go unnoticed.
What the hell? How can they send me ads without my permission?
Relax bro. No one is going to send ads to your mobile phone without your permission. This is precisely the reason why they’ve come up with something called the opt-in facility. What this means is – you can opt in to a mobile advertising campaign any time you want. If you don’t like it for some reasons, you can easily opt out of it any time you want. Easy as 1-2-3.
But why would I say yes to mobile ads, even if I had the choice to opt out any time I want?
Good question. See, mobile ads are not sent by loonies on a random basis. There is something called targeted advertising which makes things better. When you opt in to a mobile advertising campaign, you’ll be usually asked about your interests, likes and dislikes, brands you like, products you use, and a whole bunch of such questions. Using this data, mobile advertisers will be able to send relevant, targeted ads to you.
For example, if you’re a big foodie, an advertiser can send a discount coupon for a big Mac. If you’re a fitness freak, he can send you a WAP link to a site which discusses the latest trends in fitness and bodybuilding. In other words, the ads you get on your mobile phone will match your interests so you can make use of the information one way or the other.
All that is fine. I don’t want mobile ads. Now what do I do?
That’s cool. If you don’t want mobile ads, don’t opt in to any mobile ad campaign. Strictly say no to them. If you’re already a part of a campaign, simply opt out of it.
Do I only get promotional offers and discount coupons via mobile ads?
No, there are more interesting offers. How does free talk time sound to you? Or how about free text messages? Hell, there are companies that pay you to get ads on your mobile phone. There are companies which offer such things for real. Virgin does that, Blyk does that, and a number of other operators are contemplating on that. If you have doubts, check out this, this, this, this, and this.
Oh that’s nice. But I read in XYZ website that mobile ads are intrusive, a threat to privacy, etc?
Screw them. What do you think? The telecom industry is highly competitive. They just can’t afford to annoy their customers. Especially in this age of internet, they just can’t afford to make a mistake for they’ll be ripped apart by thousands of websites and blogs.
But I’m still not convinced?
Well; I think this story will convince you. China Mobile, the biggest mobile operator in the world, was made to eat humble pie due to mobile ad spam. So, I repeat, operators will not take the risk of annoying their customers with spam ads.
But what if operators all over the world made a pact and started sending ads no matter what?
What if the sun exploded? What if aliens popped out of your PC? What if George Bush got elected for the third time? What if Paris Hilton became a professor in Harvard?
See, these what-ifs are endless. Most importantly, they’re not gonna happen. So, stop thinking like a fiction writer.
Phew; so there it is folks. Hope that clarifies all your doubts about mobile phone advertising. Now, tell me. What more could I do to convince the so-called experts who constantly spew hate-filled passages about mobile advertising without any basic understanding?
Tags: Blyk, China Mobile, discount coupons, free talk time, free text messages, George Bush, mobile ads, mobile advertising, mobile advertising campaign, mobile phone, NASA, Paris Hilton, promotional offers, rant, targeted ads, Virgin, WAP
Technorati Tags: Blyk, China Mobile, discount coupons, free talk time, free text messages, George Bush, mobile ads, mobile advertising, mobile advertising campaign, mobile phone, NASA, Paris Hilton, promotional offers, rant, targeted ads, Virgin, WAP
Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Rant.
Remember I talked about the possibility of free mobile calls some time back? Well; here’s one more company which is excited about that possibility.
Aura Interactive, a Bluetooth marketing company, is the one I’m talking about. The company is known for its Bluezones, which send targeted Bluetooth based ads to mobile users. Recently, the company’s CEO said that they are planning to expand the company and come up with new prospects and innovative marketing strategies. He also hinted at the possibility of offering free mobile calls to users as one of the ideas. However, he quickly added that they haven’t decided anything on that yet and it might take some time before they start working on that idea.
I’ve been watching the mobile advertising industry for the past year or two and I’ve heard people talk about the possibility of free mobile calls, free text messages, free mobile web usage, and a lot more. Especially with companies like Blyk becoming popular, this idea is being considered by quite a few companies.
What do you feel about this? Are you okay with the concept of ad supported mobile calls? Or would you rather pay your bill and have an ad-free mobile phone?
Tags: Bluetooth, bluetooth based ads, bluetooth marketing, bluezones, free mobile calls, free mobile web, free text messages, innovative marketing, marketing company, mobile advertising, mobile phone, mobile users, mobile web
Technorati Tags: Bluetooth, bluetooth based ads, bluetooth marketing, bluezones, free mobile calls, free mobile web, free text messages, innovative marketing, marketing company, mobile advertising, mobile phone, mobile users, mobile web
Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.
Zain, a very famous mobile phone service provider in the Middle East and Africa, has joined hands with Javna, a software and wireless solutions firm, to launch MobiAd – a one-of-a-kind mobile advertising service.
People behind this collaborative effort are very confident about their mobile marketing service. In MobiAd, customers can choose the ‘channel’ they are interested in. It could be sports, consumer electronics, marketing, or technology – you can choose the channel and you will get mobile ads accordingly. As a customer, you will also be rewarded with freebies like free local calls, free international calls, free text messages, and random gifts to appreciate your taking part in the mobile advertising service.
This news is very important for a reason. The Middle East market is considered one of the most lucrative markets for mobile advertising and this launch can have a great impact in future. In fact, the mobile advertising market share in this part of the world is estimated at around a whopping $7 billion annually.
This is great news for mobile advertisers in the Middle East. As we already know, Asia is a little ahead of other markets in terms of mobile advertising technologies and the revenue generated. But with efforts like this, other markets are catching up very fast, which is good for the mobile advertising industry as a whole.
Tags: Africa, Asia, free international calls, free local calls, free text messages, Javna, Middle East, MobiAd, Mobile advertisers, mobile advertising, mobile advertising industry, mobile advertising service, mobile advertising technologies, mobile marketing, mobile marketing service, mobile phone service provider, Zain
Technorati Tags: Africa, Asia, free international calls, free local calls, free text messages, Javna, Middle East, MobiAd, Mobile advertisers, mobile advertising, mobile advertising industry, mobile advertising service, mobile advertising technologies, mobile marketing, mobile marketing service, mobile phone service provider, Zain
Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.
Alright people, here’s yet another way to cut down your mobile bill. Fring, a start-up, has come up with what could be called the mobile version of Skype. This way, you can make phone calls and send text messages free of cost from your mobile phone.
Fring is based on peer-to-peer internet technology, just like Skype. It uses peer-to-peer internet technology to activate a call from a mobile phone to another over the internet. Both the caller and the receiver need to have the Fring application in their mobile phone in order to be able to use this service. You can also chat with your friends right on your mobile phone via text messages just like you do with instant messengers. And all this, is free of cost.
You will not be charged for the air time and you will not be charged for the text messages you send via Fringe. You will just have to pay the normal data charges every month. Fring supports online communities like Yahoo, AIM, Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, Twitter, and ICQ. The service is also available in six different languages apart from English, making it accessible for non-English speakers.
The only downside is, not everyone can download and use Fring. You need to have a Symbian 8 or 9 or Windows Mobile 5 or 6 to be able to use this. So far, Fring enjoys success with users from over 160 countries.
Tags: AIM, free phone calls, free text messages, Fring, Google Talk, ICQ, Instant Messenger, internet, mobile bill, mobile phone, MSN Messenger, Skype, Symbian 8, Symbian 9, text messages, Twitter, Windows Mobile 5, Windows Mobile 6, Yahoo
Technorati Tags: AIM, free phone calls, free text messages, Fring, Google Talk, ICQ, Instant Messenger, internet, mobile bill, mobile phone, MSN Messenger, Skype, Symbian 8, Symbian 9, text messages, Twitter, Windows Mobile 5, Windows Mobile 6, Yahoo
Categories: All things mobile phones.
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