Launched in the UK in September 2007, Blyk is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) headed by former Nokia President Pekka Ala-Pietila.  On the surface, their approach doesn’t sound incredibly innovative.  After signing up for an account, users are essentially “paid” to receive ads.  A typical Blyk customer is paid via 43 minutes of free calls and 217 free texts per month.  In exchange for these freebies, they fill out profile and preference information that allows Blyk to improve their targeting, working towards a 1-1 marketing relationship. 

Through this arrangement, Blyk users receive as many as 6 ads per day on their cell phone.  In many previous cases, this type of push-advertising mobile marketing has been a major failure in Europe.  But somehow, Blyk seems to have figured it out.  As of late 2008 in the UK, it was reported that Blyk ads were achieving a 30% response rate. 

Their marketing strategy has several factors that have lead to its success.  For one, Blyk is only available to 15-24 year olds.  They use MMS to send their ads, which ensures much better content than other, similar MVNOs.  Moreover, several elements of the ads, like music, are selected by user preference, thus improving consumers’ receptability. 

Blyk initially set a goal of reaching 100 000 subscribers in the UK by the end of 2008, but were able to hit that number by April of last year.  By September, they had over 200 000 - more than doubling their initial projections for the year.

Does this business model represent a coming trend for mobile marketing?  Would you be willing to receive 6 targeted MMS ads per day on your phone, in exchange for free texting and minutes?