MVNO Blyk claims its advertising-funded business model is beginning to take off. According to Sales Director Jonathan MacDonald in an interview with MocoNews, click-through rates are currently running at between 12 and 43 percent, depending on the type of ad format received (SMS, MMS, photos, animations and videos). Most of the company’s customers are aged between 17 and 20 years old, more than half of which are university students.
Launched two months ago, Blyk is a free service aimed at 16 to 24 year olds. The service is funded by advertising; users are given free calls and texts in exchange for receiving targeted adverts on their mobiles. Customers do not have to sign a contract or make monthly payments, but pay for calls and texts if they exceed their free monthly allowance. Based in Helsinki, the company was set up by a former president of Nokia. Blyk is aiming to sign up 100,000 users over the next ten months.