It appears wannabe wireless carrier Globalive Communications Corp’s plans are nearly complete.
The company announced its partnership with Canadian-based MyScreen Mobile to provide a crucial part of their launch:mobile advertising.
The news comes hot on the heels of the appointment of Ken Campbell as the CEO of Globalive Wireless. Campbell, a veteran of Vodafone in Europe, should give Globalive the final touch it needs to make its wireless plans a success.
Globalive, as you may recall, was the brains behind www.wirelesssoapbox.com, where frustrated wireless customers could vent their complaints about Canada’s current carriers, and voice their ideas for how wireless providers should operate. It was a crowdsourcing coup, as Globalive used the feedback to build their business plans.
Apparently, one of the things Globalive found out is users don’t mind receiving mobile ads-so long as they don’t interfere with their calls and if there’s a direct benefit to their service.
Enter MyScreen-if Globalive users agree to receive mobile ads, they will receive a discount on their bill (Globalive hasn’t stated how much). What’s more, MyScreen ads are billed as “non-intrusive”-they appear at the end of a call or text message.
It’s all great for the consumer, but the marketers and advertisers Globalive needs might be wary. Do wireless users find advertisements at the end of calls unobtrusive, or do they just find them easier to ignore altogether?
If it’s the latter, advertisers might not be eager to spend their budget on Globalive mobile ads.
Globalive just invested $442 million in the Canadian wireless spectrum auction, and already owns wireless carrier Yak Communications. The impending launch can’t be far off. We’ll see if they listened properly to what users really want.
