SugarMama - Free Phone Minutes For Ads
Virgin Mobile USA will be launching a new service tomorrow (June 14) called SugarMama where their customers can earn up to 75 free phone minutes each month by either watching ads on Virgin's website or reading text-message ads on their phones. The mobile phone companies are looking at this new ad supported model as a way to subsidize cell-phone calling or wireless content.
The current free ad for minutes model likely won't appeal to anyone except for those with a lot of free time. The reason is that those who use the SugarMama service will have to watch 75 minutes worth of advertisements to get 75 free phone minutes. In addition, users won't be able to set the commercials up and leave since they must correctly answer commercial follow-up questions to prove they were paying attention.
Virgin is targeting this new ad for minutes model toward the 14-to-25-year-old demographic hoping that they will have the time and willingness to make the trade. They are banking on the assumption that teens will be willing to make the trade so that they can earn extra minutes without asking parents. Current advertisers include Microsoft's Xbox, Pepsi-Cola and a youth anti-smoking campaign targeted.
To participate in the SugarMama program, users must currently choose between reading text messages on their phones or watching ads online at the website to accrue minutes. While not available at the moment, watching video ads on the mobile phones may be available in the future.
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