Are ad-sponsored mobile services finally taking off?
Blyk, the first free ad-supported mobile phone service in
Europe, was launched in the UK yesterday. Similar to a
concept started by Virgin Mobile in the US last year, it
offers each customer 43 minutes and 217 texts per month in
exchange for receiving up to six MMS ads each day.
Additional usage will be charged at GBP 0.15 per minute or
GBP 0.10 per SMS on a prepaid basis. The MVNO is using
Orange's network in the UK, and is expected to launch in
other European key markets soon.
The very same day, MySpace announced the launch of an
ad-supported model (and a richer subscription model) for a
mobile version of its popular social network later this week.
Last, but not least, the New York Times reported - still on
September 24 - that a company called Pudding Media is going
to offer free, ad-sponsored Skype-like calls over the
Internet, using technology to eavesdrop and offer
contextually relevant ads based on the content of the
conversation. This might sound like science fiction, but
it's not, and eventually, the company will extend its
technology to mobile phones.
Coincidence? Or are ad-sponsored mobile services finally
taking off, as often predicted?
This entry was posted on September 25, 2007 at 7:30 pm and
is filed under Direct marketing, Internet, MVNO, Mobile,
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