Would you be willing to sit through 20 seconds of advertising in exchange for 40 seconds of free cell phone use? Far EasTone Telecommunications Ltd (
Taiwan's number-three cell phone provider yesterday launched an ad-sponsored calls service which it expects will help boost revenues by 10 percent and give advertisers a direct line to buyers.
By pre-registering demographic details for free through a voice-prompted service, Far EasTone customers will be able to make free calls. But first they must sit through a 20 second ad.
After a one-off registration which asks for age, sex and interests, a subscriber will then dial a three-digit number followed by # and their required phone number. The user will first be put through to a pre-recorded radio-style advertisement and then connected to the number dialled.
The ad lasts 20 seconds and are targeted at users based on the details provided at registration. The free airtime only lasts 40 seconds, after which the user will start paying for the call at applicable rates for the time and call-type. International and special service calls are excluded.
The customer will not hearing any warning or tone to indicate the end of the free time, and a maximum of 30 sponsored calls can be made per month. The free calls can't be made between 5pm and 11pm.
Far EasTone president Joseph O'Konek said the company expects to increase its average revenue per user (ARPU) by around 10 percent. That's a significant figure given that ARPU growth tends to flatten, or even fall, out as a market becomes mature.
Already 12 advertisers have signed up for the service, including EMI, 7-Eleven and Planet Hollywood. O'Konek said advertisers would also be able to make use of the GSM system's location-tracking technology.
In theory, you could dial the special code, followed by your friend's phone number and be hearing an ad which gives you directions to the nearest 7-Eleven. Advertisers will be given the choice of a basic 20 second ad, a 20 second ad followed by an SMS message, or a 20 second ad with a user-controlled SMS message. Each ad type would be incremently more expensive. Subscribers would still only get 40 seconds of free air time and would not be given choice of which ads they hear.
O'Konek expects ad-sponsored calls will be the "next big thing" in cellular telephony, with Far EasTone having invested 18 months and NT$57 million into its ad service.
Fears of spam invading cell phones was dismissed by O'Konek, who said the new service was part of a permission-based advertising approach which requires customers prior consent before allowing ads to be sent to the phone.
For advertisers, it's an all-win situation. Not only do they have a captive audience, but they know the demographic details of each and every person that listens to their ad. If only the Internet could deliver such personalization. Taiwan's MindShare Communications will act as the advertising placement agency while the system itself will be run in-house.
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