Wikipedia defines Permission marketing as :
“Marketers will ask permission before they send advertisements to prospective customers. It is used by some Internet marketers, email/ telephone marketers. It requires that people first “opt-in”, rather than allowing people to “opt-out” only after the advertisements have been sent.”
Couple of days back, the Indian govt. imposed strict norms on unsolicited advertising, and any unsolicited calls/SMS invites a fine of Rs. 500/ (and the telemarketer could even face disconnection of services).
As govt. starts tightening noose around the advertisers, permission marketing seems to be the most viable options for advertisers to monetize the subscriber base (218mn, as per the latest numbers!).
So the next question is how do you get the permission to send ads? Well, companies have come up with very smart initiatives to lure the customers to receive ads.
Here is a summary of different approaches used by companies :
[Make Money, while your mobile beeps!]
mGinger:
Recently launched service, mGinger pays users to receive ads on their mobile . Users, after registering to the site, need to specify their interests and start receiving relevant ads.
Where is the money then? Well, for every ads that they receive, the user earns 20 paise and 10 paisa for referring their friends (no wonder why all of yahoogroups are being spammed with such emails).
Once you accumulate Rs. 300/, you will receive a cheque; and as per this date, highest single earning has been Rs. 99.40 (i.e. 497 ads!!).
[Free VAS, if you say 'yes' to ads]
SMS 2.0: Pretty much on the lines of freemiumfree mantra, i.e. give away the basic service for free, charge for the premium ones; and again, make the premium free (supported by ads).
Launched by Bharati Airtel and Affle partnership (currently offered in Delhi region only), SMS2.0 platform enables free delivery of news headlines, movie trailers and promotions.
Here is how SMS 2.0 works (source)
When a subscriber turns on the mobile phone, SMS 2.0 is launched by default, but the handset can still be used in the same way when sending or receiving text messages. At the bottom of the mobile phone’s screen is an array of content banners — from news to astrology, travel and video — that the user can choose from if he or she wants to do more than just sending or receiving an SMS.
With this feature a user can key in a word or phrase just like composing an SMS message, click Search instead of Send, and be directed to a search engine such as Google or Yahoo.
SMS2.0 is a win-win situation for end users as well as operators – ARPUs are expected to increase by 10% (click-through rates on the SMS2.0 platform are almost 3 to 4 times of what is seen on the Internet), and the end users get to use few VAS services for free. [Source]
[The character(less) fight]
One of the concerns with the above mentioned service is that they don’t rely on the existing usage of the user (and aren’t really a as-you-use kind of a service). You need to change your usage behavior to use services like mGinger or SMS2.0.
But , following companies have taken a radically different approach with respect to permission marketing:
160by2.com
Using 160by2, you can send free sms to any mobile number in India, the only constraint being the 80 characters usage, i.e. you cannot send messages more than 80 characters in the length (since the next 80 characters will be utilized by advertisers for delivering contextual ads).
What I really like about 160by2 is it’s amazing UI and the clean interface. It’s a delight (and a possible case study) for any designer. The overall experience is really awesome, compared to the other services mentioned here.
way2sms
Quite similar to 160by2, way2sms also provides free text messaging absolutely free of cost (except that they allow 92 characters of message and the rest is used for ads). Way2SMS has a wider reach and boasts of a million user base.
What I really appreciate about 160by2 and way2sms ‘s approach is that apart from delivering ads, they are also providing a great service for free, i.e. sending free SMS across the country!.
Before I end this post, have a look at some market data:
- mGinger boasts of 7,00,000 registered users within 2 months of launch.
- 31% of the total users registered are students trying to earn extra pocket money.
Am I seeing something here? The 31% of registered users probably constitute the lowest level in ARPU chain and by any definition, they may not be even the target customers for companies who are using these channels to advertise their product.
Advertiser money going waste? The AdBubble 2.0 in making?
Moreover, don’t you think that such services end up as spam mails (mGinger is the newest kid in the spam mails @ yahoogroups, I have seen people y!grp blasting users who have attempted to spam with “join mGinger” spams), which also affects the service’s brand equity (my perception about mGinger has taken a hit!)?
Also, except for SMS2.0, other services are short circuiting the operator channel? Will it result in a clash?
What do you think is the right approach for mobile ad service? Free SMS or paid-to-see-ads? Do you think paid-to-see ads are sustainable?
Which service will you use? I’d love to know your viewpoint.
Hey Ashish – great article on a new kind of marketing. I am usually sceptical about people being paid to read advertising – somehow smells of SPAM.
The efficacy / readability of these ads is also suspect (some of the companies mentioned do put in checks – but those suck for the end user).
ALso the material returns are pretty low on an individual level – As you pointed out, no one has yet gone beyond 100 INR at mGinger (I would be looking forward to the day that happens). The other point being – valuing opportunity cost of INR 300 and 1500 SMSes (approx number of messages you need to recieve before you get your first cheque).
There are two scenarios here actually (and I would take the email example here) –
1. Where your email address appears on “lists” and the email service is given free to you – but you get some viagra/cialis ads every day as email. You are also sent some freebies once in a while.
2. The other is that you get email free – use it to communicate with ur friends and trusted sources and IFF you are talking of ED, you get Viagra / cialis ads. If you talk of cricket you get sports ads as a part of your message.
Which one would you like?
As a disclaimer – as you know I work at sms gupshup (www.smsgupshup.com). It is a different way of addressing the issue and the prime focus is to give value to the end customer and respect his choice.
Hey PP
Great comment! I completely agree with your statement “readability of these ads is also suspect” – I wonder how many of those 31% users actually read those ads?
Regd. the scenario you mentioned:
1. Ideally, this suits the scenario when the “email service” is at a premium, i.e. everybody else is charging for the service. and even a slight hint of freebie can attract users.E.g. – What Airtel is doing with SMS2.0 (for VAS services)
b. This is what Gmail did, i.e. they made the basic service free (because it had turned into a commodity and the only way to attract user attention was giveaway everything for free) and monetized thru’ ads.
Easier said than done, one needs to attain some critical mass to giveaway the service for free.
what do you say?
And IMHO, Contextual advertising need not be the most efficient way of advertising all the time – there is still a need for banner ads.
Mobile Advertising??
Very Good article Ashish! very informative!
well they are into SPAMMING on a ethical mode, I don’t understand why would technology be used fro destructive purpose, would it serve anyone, eventually at the end of the day they get TAGGED as big time SPAMMERS, don’t pls get attractive with money earning capability using your mobile, it only spreads nonsense and nothing more relevant to the end user!
MGinger only spreads such stuff , i guess they are in a hurry to beat most Spamming records on Mobile.
Sexy post!
Well, here is what I’ve gotta say – > mginger : spam. I’ll never use their service.
> airtel: not too sure.
> 160by2 and way2sms: they solve a pain and I will use their svc.
160by2′s site is DAMN SEXY. way2sms has more mobile stuff – ring tones etc…
Hi Ashish
While I do not enitrely agree that 160by2 model is a “permission marketing” model I did like your post.
Obviously we believe in supremacy of 160by2 model over others, but we will have to wait for a while for consumers and advertisers to pronounce their verdicts.
Thanks to you and Rohit for highlighting the UI of 160by2. We are curtrently working to add more features. Very soon you will see a revamped site.
Your comments have just raised the bar for our UI desingers.
Hi Sanyog
Thanks for your comments- 160by2′s neat features are surely a differentiator!
The reason why I included 160by2 and way2sms in this post (permission marketing) is
a. It’s permission to a certain extent that the user “knowingly” agrees to the fact that the rest of 80 chars are used for advertising, and is ok with it.
Having said that, it’s diff from the svcs like mginger etc..since u r providing a great service..solving a BIG pain (i.e. free sms)
Dear Mr. Ashish,
Nice Article by you,
FYI,
“way2sms
Quite similar to 160by2, way2sms also provides free text messaging absolutely free of cost”
Way2SMS is the First to offer Free SMS to their users anywhere in India, which was live from Jan’ 2007. Any other Free SMS service came after way2sms.com. As u said Similar to 160by2, thats not true, 160by2 is just a copy of Way2SMS.
Here is the facts FYI.
Way2SMS Alexa Ranking:
http://alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=way2sms.com
160by2 Alexa Ranking:
http://alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=160by2.com
Thank You,
Regards,
Suresh
Hi Suresh
Thanks for your comments. By saying “Quite similar to 160by2, way2sms also provides free text messaging absolutely free of cost” – all I meant was that the end service being provided is the same.
I know that way2sms is far bigger and that’s why “Way2SMS has a wider reach and boasts of a million user base.”..
Pingback: SMSGupshup - sneek peek into their new offerings (free sms/group sms from their site)
Sample design…
Ok! Beautyful.
Pingback: TRAI's National Do Not Call Registry (NDNC), Telemarketeers and the great Indian spam Industry
Pingback: Interview with Ravindra Kumar, COO of SMSCountry/160by2.com (Indian startups)
Pingback: Bluetooth advertising: the new mobile advertising model for Indian Mobile market
Pingback: India Business weekly wrap: Website advertising on TV jumps high, mGinger's funding, InfoEdge's ambitious plans |Indian startups, India Business
Pingback: Internet advertising to beat newspaper advertising? |Indian startups, India Business
Pingback: Virgin Group to launch CDMA handsets, Partners with Tata Teleservices |Coverage of Indian Startups, Business
dude great stuff.please also write something with regard to web based models of permission marketing
Pingback: Prateek Dayal
Pingback: Permission Marketeer MyScreen Files Patent for Mobile Advertising in India |Technology and Business Startups in India
i57lNV hi! hice site!
Pingback: workplace ethics indian companies teamlease survey |Technology and Business Startups in India
NowPos Online Services a small IT Research and Application Development company has developed a mobile advertising Application called “Beep” has launched in Hyderabad as test market with Airtel as its service provider. To get that application one should send a SMS to 52288 and download the application in return they are getting 100 min Airtel to Airtel talk time free every month till the application is live on his mobile. The concept is really good and i think it will be the first where the end users are benefited with such a VAS service. The Ad is not through the SMS but image and text on the main screen.
Pingback: Mobile ad networks in India |Technology and Business Startups in India
http://www.smsdaak.in
is the leading Bulk SMS Provider in india..
Yes, I am using smsdaak.in for bulk sms for my business. There service is really awesome. The support team is very friendly too !!