Re: [ruby] Virgin Mobile Free Airtime for Ads

[ruby]

Virgin Mobile USA are preparing to permit users with free airtime by opting in to advertising. The 'Sugar Mama' program is set to launch June 14, with three advertisers confirmed by Virgin Mobile USA: box, PepsiCo and Truth, the youth anti-smoking campaign run by the American Legacy Foundation. Virgin Mobile USA said it plans to continue to add to that line-up of "kindred spirit" marketers.

Users can sign up through Virgin's Web site for three types of advertising: text messaging, video ads and questionnaires, and use those options to earn up to 75 free minutes of talk time per month. The exchange rate Virgin Mobile USA is using for mobile subscribers' time is one free minute of airtime for watching a 30-second video spot; one minute for every two text messages received; and one minute for each minute spent answering a questionnaire-so a five-minute survey gets you five minutes of airtime. Depending the service, Virgin Mobile USA customers will interact with the ads on the PC or the handset.

That engagement is guaranteed by a brief series of multiple-choice questions. In a demonstration of the video ad portion of Sugar Mama, the user answers one question about the content of the ad—which actor plays the main character in a movie trailer, for instance—then is bumped to a screen where the user can give feedback on the ad and answer a few questions related to the product, which could offer advertisers more insight into potential customers' habits.

A demo ad for a wireless handset asked if the user owned a handset by the manufacturer, and which of four phone features they used most. A spot featuring a Virgin Mobile USA musical artist's album asked users if they would buy the CD, and how they usually get new music (buying CDs or downloading them from online stores).

The users also get to rate the ad itself, on a scale ranging from "phenomenal" to "lame." After the final available ad plays, a message pops up that reads, "Sorry honey, your Sugar Mama is out of sweets."

According to the demo site, the text message component requires the user to read a text message and then send a reply with a short code in it; the user has three tries to get it right. The text messages sent and received are free. For the questionnaire portion, users are told ahead of time how long the questions are expected to take and, if they sign up for both video ads and questionnaires, will get a mix of the two.

The free minutes should show up in the user's account in about an hour, according to the demo site.

Each of the components requires basic demographic information, such as age (users must certify that they are older than 13), gender and ZIP code of residence. Handler said that eventually, Virgin Mobile USA plans to provide advertisers with targeted access to users who have opted in: all of its female users, for example, or all its users in a particular ZIP code.

[Phil]

This is a brilliant idea. Target kids who have too much time on their hands, make them by more Pepsi, all while giving them more minutes, very smart. I wonder if the Sprint network can handle the extra load (it is sprint right?).