Permission Marketing is nothing new for Indian mobile consumers and the latest to join the bandwag
on is Blyk, UK based free mobile service network for 16-24 year olds.
Blyk offers free talk time to users in return for accepting to receive targeted advertising on their phone (there will be a ceiling on free calls/SMSpermitted per subscriber)
Blyk is looking for partners in India and is in talks with Reliance (source).
Why this could work? If you look at mGinger’s target segment, 31% of the total registered users are students trying to earn extra pocket money (read: Permission Marketing and the new Mobile Advertising Mantra in India).
So essentially there is a market validation for the service, and Blyk’s focus on a niche target segment will help advertisers as well.
Having said that, achieving scale has been a challenge (Virgin mobile is a classic example).
What’s your take on Blyk’s offering? Will it fly?