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Tesco Mobile fuels mobile ad interaction with phone-bill discounts

Tesco Mobile is incentivizing consumers to interact with branded advertisements on their mobile devices by reducing monthly phone bill fees in exchange for viewing exclusive offers, potentially ushering in a new business model for telecommunications companies.

Tesco Mobile has teamed up with mobile technology firm Unlockd to roll out the new strategy, which could result in significant new user acquisition as well as increased positive brand sentiment from long-term customers. The Tesco Mobile Xtras application is available to the virtual network operator?s current and new customers, who can now connect with a slew of brands? ads and special offers to receive a $4.35 discount off their monthly phone bill.

?We?ve seen from the launch in Australia and the United States that consumers are very receptive to seeing content, ads or deals in return for the value exchange of a discounted bill,? said Matt Berriman, CEO of Unlockd. ?Hundreds of thousands of happy customers that continue to grow daily.?

Incentives and discounts
Consumers in Britain may now download the Tesco Mobile Xtras app to receive a plethora of geo-targeted mobile ads, discounts, offers and other content from brands including Doritos, McDonald?s, British Airways and Branston.

Unlockd has also joined forces with Facebook to serve personalized and relevant Facebook ads to individuals through the Audience Network. Users can opt to interact further or disengage from the experience by tapping the X in the corner of each ad.

Tesco Mobile customers will be able to receive $4.35 ? or £3 ? off their monthly phone bill, giving them a major incentive to participate in the new program.

When individuals unlock their smartphones, a full-screen mobile ad will appear, which they can choose to interact with by clicking on the designated buttons. For example, an ad for British food brand Branston invites users to tap a button to receive several recipes using its popular chutney.

Participants can also expect to see a variety of ads on their personal devices.

?There will be multiple offers shown to the consumer,? Mr. Berriman said.

It is of paramount importance for telecommunications network to innovate within the mobile space and act as early adopters of the latest consumer-facing technologies.

Last winter, Sprint was the premier telecommunications brand leveraging Facebook Messenger as a new social care channel with which it responds to inquiries and provides real-time chat solutions to customers (see story).

Unlocking new revenue streams
Publisher News UK is the exclusive media partner providing the advertising inventory for Unlockd, and will also serve consumers stories from The Sun. The publisher believes this collaboration is an ideal way for it to expand its readership and enable its advertising clients to reach a slew of potential new customers.

Unlockd?s value exchange model will help Tesco Mobile uncover new revenue streams, give advertisers coveted access to individuals? smartphone lock screens and also aid consumers in reducing their monthly phone bills, resulting in an enticing business solution for all participants.

Although many consumers are averse to receiving a barrage of mobile ads, the monetary incentive will likely persuade a high number of Tesco Mobile customers to download the new app.

Several other major brands have also experimented with delivering opt-in sponsored content to users in exchange for a valued service or item.

For example, Land Rover North America was one of the first brands to leverage streaming service Pandora?s Sponsored Listening advertising feature, which saw lifts of 30 percent for purchase intent and 12 percent for brand awareness during the testing period (see story).

Other telecommunications companies are set to follow in Tesco Mobile?s footsteps and adopt similar value exchange models in a bid to please advertisers and customers.

?The mobile advertising global market is set to exceed $100 billion in next 12 months and is a great opportunity for Telco?s and MVNO?s to assess new and differentiated revenue streams in a highly competitive market,? Mr. Berriman said.