Regional, flat-rate carrier Revol has started testing an advertising-supported wireless service that allows users to get a discount on their bills if they agree to receive content, advertising and promotional offers on their phones.
Privately held Revol said it initially plans to trial the service, called Revol Perks, for 60 days for subscribers in Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Toledo and Youngstown, Ohio, as well as Indianapolis.
Revol President and CEO Rocky Crossland said that for purposes of the trial, customers who opt in will receive a one-time $10 credit on their bills. After the trial is over, he said Revol will consider the best strategy for pricing, but he said it was likely to be some form of a monthly discount.
Revol has been developing the content and ad delivery system with Arlington, Va.-based mobile advertising company Mobile Posse for the past year. The service essentially involves a small banner ad that appears on the phone’s idle screen; it does not interfere with the phone’s normal use or take over the screen, and it eventually goes away if the customer doesn’t respond. Users who wish to respond to an ad-say, for a free order of fries from a local restaurant, which could appear on the phone around dinner time-click on the star key or a soft key to pull up more information. That information could include a hot-linked phone number, information about nearby locations, or a coupon code to show a cashier.
The ads are stored in a library on the phone, which the customer can pull up and browse through later instead of responding immediately. Advertisers decide how long they want the offer to last, and the ad library shows expiration information. In addition to the ads, users also are sent content such as a morning weather update, sports scores and trivia.
“The key to our solution is that it delivers content in a seamless and unobtrusive manner that will be accepted and welcomed by consumers,” said Jon Jackson, Mobile Posse’s CEO. “By giving consumers the opportunity to opt in and specify the types of content and offers they would like to receive, we are bringing to market the mobile advertising solution of choice.”
Phone update required
Revol customers who want to participate must install a free phone software update at participating Revol stores. The company has 250 points of distribution at which it plans to promote the trial. The 15 initial advertisers include local representatives of Pizza Hut, CBS, Panera Bread and Chevrolet. Jackson said that Mobile Posse’s system enables segmentation by zip code, although some ads will go out network-wide.
“The beauty of this application is that it’s not an extremely bandwidth-intensive application,” said Crossland. “It allows us to do real-time delivery and to put this application through our network without any constraints upon our data network.”
Part of the trial will include testing customers’ tolerance for multiple ads per day and repetition of ads. Crossland said that although some wireless companies have experimented in mobile advertising, nitty-gritty data on what works is hard to come by.
“There are no footprints in the snow to follow,” he said. “There are a few people that are dabbling, but . there’s no one that can really dissect this as we’re going to be able to.”
Crossland said that the Mobile Posse application was “very robust” and would allow Revol to have a detailed understanding on take rates and consumption of the ads-which the company will use to tweak its offerings and pursue advertisers in order to keep the ads relevant to its young, budget-conscious customer base.
First to use idle screen
Other companies that have dipped into the ad-supported waters include Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C., which operates an opt-in system to allow customers to earn airtime in exchange for watching ads. Other ad-supported services that have hit the wireless playground include mobile games and information services. However, Revol says it is the first to introduce idle screen insertion advertising in North America.
Revol Perks’ ad campaign will be particularly heavy in Cleveland with promotional appearances by Ohio native and Cleveland Browns legend Bernie Kosar and Revol appearances on local television and radio programs.
“It’s going to be hard to avoid the launch of Revol Perks if you live in Cleveland,” said Jackson.
Revol, the retail brand of operator Cleveland Unlimited Inc., provides wireless service across most major Ohio cities, plus one market each in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New York and Kentucky. The carrier offers calling plans starting at $37 per month and offers service using a CDMA2000 1x network.
