Dive Brief:
- Sprint-owned Boost Mobile is teaming up with mobile platform Unlockd to reward its subscribers with $5 per month for engaging with ads on their phone’s lock screen, Ad Exchanger reports.
- According to Unlockd CEO and Co-Founder Matt Berriman, smartphones are unlocked an average of 150 times each day, a figure that goes up to 200 times per day for millennials, making the lock screen an attractive spot for advertising.
- Austrailian telecom Lebara is also working with Unlockd offering its users two gigs of free data each month in exchange for viewing ads on the lock screen.
Dive Insight:
Given the penetration of smartphones and tablets, as well as the amount of time people are spending on those devices, mobile advertising is a big business. Making use of the lock screen as a place for advertising is a logical step, although mobile carriers might have to give something up in order to serve ads on the lock screen. Audiences have become very aware of their user experience – the rise of ad blocking tech is evidence of this trend – and it will have to be seen if $5 or two free gigs of data is enough for someone to be willing to view an ad 150, or more, times each day.
Amnet Group US is testing Unlockd on behalf of clients, and Managing Director Justine Watkins told Ad Exchanger, "Mobile has been and will continue to be a priority for us," adding advertising on the lock screen might be an "engaging way to reach today’s constantly connected consumer."
Doug Smith, director of prepaid product marketing at Sprint Telecom, explained cost savings for users is the potential appeal of viewing ads on the lock screen to Ad Exchanger.
"You have to regain that customer base every month because they could stop paying at the beginning or the end of any cycle. But by lowering the cost, we believe customers will stay with us longer and bring us more value over time," Smith said.