Dutch start-up i-Wood plans to launch a mobile service backed by advertising in the first quarter of 2007. Huib Kloosterhuis, former debitel Netherlands CEO and a partner at i-Wood, told Telecompaper in an interview that the company will offer low-priced handsets and services in exchange for subscribers agreeing to permanent banner ads on their phone displays. The advertising requires the installation of software on Windows-compatible phones. I-Wood plans to subsidise the cost of the handset, and is in talks with network operators for the launch.Initially i-Wood will target user groups with a clear profile, in order to attract advertisers looking for a specific user group. Banners will be sent automatically to the phones, with i-Wood keeping track of click-throughs and page views of websites behind the banners. The company expects advertisers will be willing to pay a premium for the one-to-one contact with consumers, with Kloosterhuis estimating the cost to advertisers at EUR 1.00-2.50 per end-user, per month. Later on i-Wood plans to allow subscribers to choose advertisers in their areas of interest, reducing the cost of their subscription by selecting multiple advertisers, or paying an additional small fee for a customised information feed to their phone.
Wireless Federation » Dutch start-up i-Wood to launch ad-backed mobile service
Dutch start-up i-Wood to launch ad-backed mobile service
- December 13th, 2006
- 10:42 am
