Free SIM. Free load. Exclusive offers and rewards.
These are just a few of the perks the lucky subscribers of ümobile are entitled to as the mobile network goes live.
Thanks to this by-invitation only network, free will soon become a way of life for the teenagers and yuppies who have been accepted into the exclusive circle of ümobile subscribers. Not only will they get their ümobile SIM cards for free, it would also be delivered straight to their homes at no cost.
What’s more, it even comes with a free P100 load every month for the next six months, allowing their valued subscribers to further enjoy ümobile’s unique services right off the bat. This sweet deal is only good until August.
Other freebies and discounts that ümobile subscribers can also look forward to include exclusive offers from mobile marketing campaigns specially tailored to suit their various tastes and lifestyles, plus additional rewards for simply viewing an ad on their handsets.
All this is made possible through ümobile’s unique ad-funded mobile platform, which partners with companies who wish to create mobile-based marketing campaigns for a particular brand.
A portion of the revenues generated from a brand’s campaign will be given back to the subscribers, who can then purchase or make transactions for ümobile services or avail themselves of a brand’s product offer.
“It’s like earning money or credit by watching commercials on television or viewing print ads in newspapers and magazines, except that they do it through their ümobile phones,” said Ardie Balderrama, ümobile chief marketing officer.
With ümobile, mobile ads actually become something subscribers look forward to as they not only earn additional load just for viewing them, but also get exclusive freebies, discounts and other rewards that will appeal to their individual lifestyles.
“Our ads will be 100-percent permission-based, which is a prerequisite for signing up with ümobile, but we will also ensure that our subscribers will only be forwarded mobile campaigns that will be relevant to them,” Balderrama said.
A detailed questionnaire filled up by subscribers during enrollment helps ümobile fulfill their promise of giving members relevant ad campaigns.
With information from what kind of movies and music their subscribers patronize and whether they go to the gym, ümobile can determine what offers will interest target groups and help advertisers craft campaigns that will excite them.
“Through its database, ümobile ensures that advertisers will get a mobile marketing campaign especially designed for the target market. Instead of a mass text to faceless subscribers, ümobile will help develop customized mobile marketing campaigns with information from its customer profiles,” Balderrama said.
Advertisers can control not only to whom the ads are sent but also when these messages are deployed. “For food brands, that could be a reminder right before lunch to subscribers in a particular area.” Balderrama said. That’s definitely a win-win situation for both the advertiser and the ümobile subscriber.
There are more fun services in store for members as they look forward to nationwide coverage through a partnership with Smart Communications and an online self-care website where they can easily purchase prepaid load and even allows them to change and choose their own mobile phone numbers free of charge.
Subscribers also enjoy even better connectivity through mobile broadband access to the Internet, and the use of mobile VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) through a partnership with fring (www.fring.com), which will allow mobile-to-mobile calls via VoIP and PC to mobile and vice-versa, and live chat with Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahoo! and AIM.
ümobile, the first ad-funded mobile service in the Philippines and in Asia, is an exclusive mobile community which targets people between ages 15 to 35.
ümobile is owned by Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Smart Communications. For more information, visit www.umobile.com.ph.