As the number of smartphone users reaches 30 million, the mobile advertising market continues to grow. One company has now decided to target the very screen which users look at the most, the “lock screen”. Displayed when a phone is locked, the lock screen is looked at by users approximately 40-50 times a day, though most users don’t utilize this part of their phone in any way. Startup NBT Partners is providing benefits to both phone users and companies by utilizing the lock screen with its new program Cash Slide.
Cash Slide is an advertising platform for Android which shows users a variety of ads on their lock screen. While it may not sound appealing at first, what attracts users to install the application are the rewards that are given to the user in the form of points, shopping information and discounts. Every time the smart phone is unlocked, an amount between 5 – 100 is awarded to the user and naturally an amount of more than 5000 won accumulates every month.
After downloading the app and registering, ads will appear on the lock screen. The screen can be simply unlocked by sliding left to right, or details on ads or coupon downloads can be accessed by sliding right to left. Points can be gained by using either slide option, and accumulated money can later be transferred to a bank account, used to buy products or even donated.
While there are other similar advertising apps which also compensate users in some way, all of these require the user to do an extra activity such as a quiz or a survey. Cash Slide has integrated this type of platform into an everyday activity, meaning users do not have to worry about using extra time.
The app has been received well so far, making the number two spot for free apps on Korea’s Google Play and racking up one million downloads in a space of two weeks following its launch in November — a faster uptake than the popular instant messaging app Kakao Talk. The platform is expected to help smaller companies that are trying to market apps, recently made more difficult with the success of Kakao’s gaming center.
“Outside of advertising, there are many uses for a smartphone’s lock screen. We put our own advertisement up as a notice to users and it got an average of 50,000 views per day. It can already be seen that there is potential for it as media. In the future, Cash Slide will be developed as smart media platform that fits in your hand and we look forward to it being widely used a national app like Kakao Talk.”
Download the app and find out more information about Cash Slide via the website.