RSSWatch an Ad, Get Some Airtime
By Ed Oswald | Published May 30, 2006, 11:10 AM
Prepay provider Virgin Mobile USA launched a new program called "SugarMama" Tuesday that would allow its users to earn airtime by viewing advertisements. The user would view the online ad or text advertisement, and then provide feedback to the advertiser on what they saw.
Three national brands have initially signed on to the service: Microsoft's Xbox division; Pepsi-Cola, which would initially feature Diet Mountain Dew; and truth, the national youth anti-smoking initiative.
The service will be powered by Ultramercial, a Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. based internet advertising firm that specializes in offering incentives to users that watch its clients ads.
"This is truly a win-win situation for everyone involved," Virgin Mobile USA CEO Dan Schulman said. While customers would be able to earn free minutes, advertisers would gain an easy way to target Virgin's young user base -- a key demographic in the growing mobile advertising space.
SugarMama is the result of testing with its customers, Virgin Mobile said. Users will be required to opt into the service after certifying they are 13 years of age or older, and filling out a demographic profile.
From there, the user would need to watch a video advertisement, then be able to answer several questions to ensure they understood its content. Correct answers would equal free airtime. Additionally, users could opt into text messages for the opportunity to earn more minutes.
Virgin has high hopes for the new service. "Our customers are the first to try new things and often convince others to do the same," chief marketing officer Howard Handler said. "They are passionate about the brands and music they associate with and, like Virgin Mobile itself, they are not afraid to be different."
why?
for goodness sake, why?
i can just see it now, stuck on the side of the road, watching commercials and filling out surveys, just to call a tow truck.
lol :-)
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This idea could work. I just hope it's not a minute airtime for a minute worth of ads. Maybe like a 50 to 1 ratio...
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A 50 to 1 ratio seems unlikely. 3-4 to 1 seems more likely given experience with commercial tv and radio. Given the target audience of Virgin Mobile is fairly young I would imagine that they would get a good number who would be willing to watch a few ads to gets some more air time. This will probably be never more than niche for people who are cheap and have a lot of free time.
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I was wondering how long until this would happen. Personally I would rather pay for my calls and have no adverts. Much as I would rather pay for TV and have no adverts (which is why I like the BBC). However I understand different people want different things and I am sure this will be popular with some people.
I do wonder how long until adverts are just a part of your phone though which you have no choice but to see/hear them (similar to websites)?
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I think that it is unlikely that such a business model become the dominant one because most people's usage is low enough that it reasonable to avoid an advertised based service. Comparison with the web aren't quite apt because most people are either unable or unwilling to pay what it would cost to upkeep a website. Despite some good attempts there hasn't been much success it getting people to pay for content on the internet.
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I agree. The reason I don't watch a minute of TV is it's impossible for me to 1. Pay only for television without ads.
2. Watch anything but my local Public Broadcaster without ads. And even they constantly push corporate logos and slogans on their programs.
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