Equals' ad-supported Party Line connects users via mobile

By Giselle Abramovich

May 12, 2008

Party time for Party Line

Consumers today use many different communication services such as mobile, IM, SMS and social networks. Each service operates as its own vertical silo and provides a service identifier such as a phone number, email address, IM handle and a screen name. This results in too many identifiers and no discovery or interoperability amongst services.

Equals provides a universal identifier that works across all contexts and services. Equals' first product to market is a Facebook application called Party Line, which connects a user's selected group of friends instantly and simultaneously using a group call where the conference bridge calls out to each party. The service is free because users must listen to a voice ad before all parties are connected to one another.

Mobile Marketer's Giselle Abramovich spoke with Scott Shepherd, vice president of business development at Equals, about the company and his outlook on mobile. 

What is Equals' role in mobile?
In the highest level what we do is help users connect to one another for free and all they do is listen to a targeted voice ad. The ads are targeted according to the subject of the party line and via their location.

For example, if the subject of the Party Line is what movie to go and see and all of the members of the conference are in New York, then the ad served could be a small movie theatre in New York City. Some of our advertisers include Thumbplay, Limbo and a contact lens company.

The service is fairly new and we hope that eventually it can be used as a mobile marketing tool.

For example, let’s say a company is doing a campaign around a sports event. That company can create a Party Line with the subject being that sports event and people can join and chat about the event.

What do you think the current state of mobile is?
I think the advertising industry is undergoing a disruptive change that is caused by mobile marketing more than any other spectrum.

The mobile industry is seeing the opening of the walled garden, where advertising is not controlled by the carriers so much. Mobile carriers are becoming just the pipeline that provides the access and the transport.

What is it going to take to drive it forward?
I think the biggest challenge is getting everyone to buy into it. As more and more brands get into it, then the true value of it will be understood. A lot of companies are using mobile to interact with the end user in a community-type fashion and not as jarring as advertising, but more of a tool for branding.

Do you think that ad-supported content and services is the way to go?
I think that Generation Y and college kids are trained to receive advertsising because they grew up with the Internet which is filled with it. Also, they are ready to receive ads in exchange for something they want for no additional cost to them.

Can you think of a mobile campaign that you saw or heard about lately that’s really stuck in your head?
In Europe, car company Skoda broadcasted television ads asking consumers to text to a short code if they were interested in scheduling a test drive. This particular campaign saw 30,000 test drives and 1,000 car sales and the ability to track back is that much more successful on mobile.

What are the benefits of using the mobile channel in terms of marketing?
I think the biggest benefit is that mobile phones are personal and are indicative of a persona personality. It's something consumers always have on them and that’s why marketers see opportunity there. Marketers can serve targeted and valuable ads to consumers’ mobile phones.