Optus launches service offering freebies for customers to watch ads
Optus has followed in the footsteps of Lebara Mobile by offering users free data in exchange for watching ads it claims are 100% viewable.
The new Optus Xtra service will give prepaid mobile customers of the telco the chance to earn either 1GB or $2 of credit per month on their plans by having ads displayed on their phone’s locked screen.
https://youtu.be/q3lffu-vo9U
Telcos across the world have been rolling out similar services, with Australian start-up Unlockd leading the charge in several markets, including its deal with Lebara.
Optus’ product is being delivered through digital marketing business, Amobee, which is owned by parent company, Singtel, using technology from New Zealand firm, Postr.
Megan Forster, director of product innovation, said: “Our prepaid customers have told us they want to boost their data but are also budget conscious. By giving customers the option to earn extra data through watching ads, Optus is enabling them to enjoy more of what they love, without spending an extra cent.”
The ads will be full-screen executions or pop-ups which can be pressed to play a video, with a press release saying they will be “served within a mobile phone’s most intimate environment”.
Liam Walsh, Australia and New Zealand managing director for Amobee, said: “Optus Xtra is a mobile advertising solution that puts mobile first and allows advertisers to reach audiences who have opted-in to see ads that are highly relevant to their interests and preferences.
“The Optus Xtra lock screen format lets brand advertisers target highly-engaged audiences, where they are guaranteed a full screen creative canvas and 100% viewability.”
The release explains how the process works:
Optus Xtra displays static ads on the locked screen of a customer’s mobile phone and users may be presented with an option to view a video version of the ad or visit the brand’s website.
Customers can unlock their phone as usual when an ad is displayed on their phone screen.
Users can customise the ads they receive by nominating their interests across eight categories – beauty, employment, fashion, government and politics, health, money, technology, and travel.
The Optus Xtra app is free and can be downloaded from the Google Play store.
The app currently only works for Android phones.
so punters will be watching ads not because they have any interest or affinity in the brand or the product being sold, but because they’re being bribed …er…paid to. That has got to be one of the worst ideas ever.
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Bribing people to watch ads – the industry has hit a new low
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@Minnie… What about the ads you see in cinemas, billboards, flyers..blah blah blah… We’re you interested in watching them in the first place, nothing is free 🙂
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$2 of credit. $2. Wow. Where do I sign up?
Plus, if Optus has, say, 2 million pre-paid customers and the value is $2, are they going to make $4 million per month / $48m per year on this? Just to break even? I dread to think what the business case had in it.
As Jake says, a new low for digital advertising. Taking the industry into the gutters. Where else can we slap an ad for accidental clicks?
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-_-
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Jake what are you talking about? The person doesn’t have to view the ad. That’s better than television.
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Right, so 99% of the audience will be low income earners , drug dealers and teens who have little to no money to spend on products in the first place hence them being on pre paid and desperate to score that $2 credit fix.
Sounds good!
Looking forward to the click through rates.
Digital, half a step forward and 32 backwards.
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Tv offers value in the form of content, I’ll cop a TV ad to watch some live sport.
This is a lock screen on android that shows ads in return for credit. Whoopdy Doo!
Seems rather intrusive.
Google’s survey tool on android is a much better implementation of of the give and take to benefit both advertisers in the form of market research and users earning credit on the play store.
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A bad idea it certainly is. The other issue for Unlockd and Lebara is that the user has the power to ‘switch you off’ by uninstalling the app that serves up the ads. Further, it will never come to Apple devices.
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