'More than 3G, content and relevance drive mobile advertising'

Please tell us a little about the partnership between Blyk and Aircel in India.

While Blyk was founded 5 years ago, we launched in India on the November 19th with Aircel. Choosing Aircel as a partner was thanks to similar goals of a youth target audience, and concentration in metros and tier-II cities. As part of our content offerings on the Aircel platform, we offer Blyk Entertainment, Blyk Sport, Blyk Star, and Blyk Mixx. Aircel subscribers have to subscribe for availing this service, and in turn get freebies, according to individual interests.

You have been able to achieve over 100,000 subscribers in just 3 months. What is the secret of this success?

Firstly, we are an opt-in advertising medium which offers ads and content only based on customer likes and what they have opted for. We cater to individual interests by means of 3 methods-basic profiling (reply toll-free on SMS about content one would like to receive), historic data (based on previous campaigns), and subscriber numbers and profiles from the Aircel database. Based on past experience, we have seen that SMS campaigns are 10 times more successful than other campaigns, and hence there is better scope for advertising here as well. Users on Blyk sign in and get only content they have opted for; hence, there is no chance of spamming like the usual SMS ads. Thus, do-not-call Registry also would have no effect on us.

What are some of the unique content needs you have noticed in the Indian market?

India is a more content-driven a market and only localized content is offered. Another unique thing we have noticed about the Indian market is that MMS is more popular here, than anywhere else in the world-even more than SMS-which is probably due to the preference for video or a pictorial medium of communication. Moreover, 3G can offer a richer platform to advertising, and add accessibility through greater bandwidth-contributing to a better user experience. Still, at the end of the day, it is content and relevance that drives mobile advertising, backed by interactivity and incentives.

What is in the pipeline for Blyk in India?

While Blyk today works on almost all handsets, we are currently working on apps for 3G and broadband. While we have launched in all major cities in India as of now, we have signed an exclusive deal with Aircel, and have no plans as of now to sign up with any other operator in India. As of now, Blyk is available only on the prepaid platform, with a lifetime membership starting at `74, but we may explore the postpaid platform in the future, as well.

Beryl M
berylm@cybermedia.co.in

Tata DOCOMO Introduces New VAS 'English Seekho'

Tata DOCOMO has announced the launch of a new VAS application called 'English Seekho' which is accessible through an Interactive Voice Portal. This service aims at teaching situational spoken English through IVR. Subscribers who wish to learn English can dial 529221 from their Tata DOCOMO phone. Subscription charges for this service is just `10 for 15 days and subsequent browsing charge is 1 paise/second. This service is available for both prepaid and postpaid subscribers. The application guides the user through audio clips that teach spoken English.