Bluetooth marketer Aura to launch “free” mobile calls within the next twelve months.
Aura Interactive is a company that offers free ad-targeted content to mobile phone users - if you've been through a Hoyts cinema recently you've probably been targeted by one of Aura's "Bluezone" mobile offers.
Today Aura's CEO Adam Dunne gave hints as to where its planning to expand in the next twelve months -- including the interesting prospect of offering free mobile phone calls on an ad-supported basis.
The free calls – and possibly free Internet access – are still in the pipeline; in Dunne's presentation he mentioned “in the next twelve months”, but when pressed, Dunne claimed it was all still in preliminary planning.
“We might use a model where a customer listens to a voice advertisement before their call, or possibly some kind of landing page to visit prior to making a call” he told PC Authority.
Aura's marketing agreement with companies employing Bluezone typically covers WiFi as well, and while Dunne said they'd experimented with Bluetooth delivery of calls, WiFi was a more likely target, but that the general lack of WiFi in consumer phones was a limiting factor.
Would you use a free mobile service if it meant having to listen to ads beforehand? Add your comment below.