Blyk wins 100,000 subscribers
24 April 2008
Blyk wins 100,000 subscribers
Ad funded MVNO Blyk, said Thursday that it has surpassed its annual subscriber target six months ahead of schedule, signing up 100,000 users since its launch in late September.
Blyk, which sits on Orange's UK network, targets the 16 - 24 year old market and subsidises the cost of usage by enabling brands to send text and multimedia messages to the end users, based on profiles and preferences.
When the firm announced its plans, more than a few eyebrows were raised, but now the company claims that operators are coming around to the idea, largely encouraged by average advertising response rates of 29 per cent.
Compared to other forms of mass market advertising, this figure is phenomenal when compared to a 0.5 per cent response rate for online advertising and 4.5 per cent from unprofiled SMS.
Talking to telecoms.com recently, Blyk's group COO, Leif Fagelstedt, said, "Six months ago there were a lot of people doubting whether it would work. But now that has turned around. I don't get the sense today that there are responses coming from operators saying that they don't want Blyk on their network."
Shaun Gregory, UK CEO of Blyk, said: "Reaching 100,000 members is significant for advertisers because it gives them the opportunity to engage with a mass youth audience in a highly efficient and cost-effective way. In six months we have built up a deep knowledge of our member base which now exceeds many established youth media players and with over 7 million 16-24 year old phone owners in the UK there is huge potential for growth."
Blyk is launching in the Netherlands in the second half of 2008 followed by other European markets.
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