Calling a friend? Listen to an advert. You lucky, lucky thing Do you ever think that the time you spend listening to a phone ringing is wasted? ChannelVAS does. It wants to use that time to sell you things. The idea the company has had is that instead of listening to a ringing sound you could be listening to an ad. The mobe network could then make money from selling that time to …
Me, a non-subscriber to the so-called "service", has to listen to an advert provided by said so-called "service", despite the fact that I never signed up for the annoyance. My air-time is payed for by myself, not the so-called "service" trying to delude me with marketing bullshit. Any so-called "friend" making use of this will instantly be put on ignore.
The way the article reads is that the ads are played to me -the caller- instead of listening to the ringing noise while waiting for the other end to pick up. Presumably in that case the call wouldn't be put through until the advert has finished playing.
Blyk was the -thoroughly deserved- failed service where you conscripted 'mates' into listening to adverts (not that you would have any a couple of days after you started with the service).
If this one plays the ad to whoever you're attempting to call then it will die quickly. If it only plays it to the caller, then it might just about work if callers are offered something significant; otherwise it's already dead and hasn't stopped moving yet. Can't say I fancy it for myself at any price.
OK, I was livid at first, but now I think it might not be a bad idea if used properly. (Don't hurt me, hear me out!)
Imagine an ad campaign directed at these <WHOA! REDACTED!> that plays selected gems from Bill Hicks little essay on marketing ( http://youtu.be/gDW_Hj2K0wo ) , on their phone every time they make a call.
No way to shut it out, they can't stop it, because the miserable <WHOA! REDACTED!> actually took the money to do it to themselves!
Imagine, every time those <WHOA! REDACTED!> make a business call: "Kill yourself", "Kill yourself, you worthless piece of Shit.", "Seriously, you have no excuse for living, just kill yourself."
Anybody up for a kickstarter?
“AdVoice gives digital advertisers the opportunity to re-target their mobile users via multi-Mobile Network Operator channels and generate revenues from sources other than subscribers.”
This, without doubt, is going to go along the lines of "Your call is important to us, so we'd like to foce you to listen to our advert whilst we're talking to someone else whose call is clearly more important to us than yours."
The dweeb in the quote above uses the word 'target'. I can only agree...
And what is to stop them delaying call connection until *all* the ad has played through to its conclusion?
Just fuck off, This has no place on any phone I use. If this became widespread I would revert to a payg connection and communicate as much as I could by IM and email.
We really need a way to exterminate the marketing fucktards. We neither want nor need selling to at every step.
I am NOT a marketing opportunity. I DONT buy on a whim or just because some ad tells me I need this.... so it would just be wasted on me, and would most likely create a NEGATIVE view of the product/service for me and Id guess many others.
I am NOT a marketing opportunity. I DONT buy on a whim or just because some ad tells me I need this.... so it would just be wasted on me, and would most likely create a NEGATIVE view of the product/service for me and Id guess many others.
Very much agree with this.
We recently had a state election here in Queensland. It'd just be my luck that 3 years ago a fellow by the name of Campbell Newmann decided to run for the seat I live in (Ashgrove) and wound up becoming both our local member of parliament and the premier. (No, I didn't vote for him even then.)
Early last month a decision was made to have the election on the 31st. I think I received no more than one or two letters from the other camps but the amount of crap that arrived from Campbell Newmann's office and party, then the robocalls on top of that, soon cemented his spot at number 5 on my ballot paper (out of 5 candidates).
I'd have turned the ballot paper 90° and written an 8 in the box beside his name but I didn't want to cast an "informal" vote.
Marketers, let this be a message to you: harass people and you will do a disservice to your client, regardless of who the client is!
More like 100% wastage if I encounter this on call I make.
There is no way that I am going to hold on while somthing that I don't want and am not interested in is advertised to me.
Like other posters I'll probably send them an email stating the reasons why their company has lost me as a customer. If enough of us do this then perhaps (yeah right!!!!) this 'feature' will be consigned to the great waste bin in the sky.
No, No ,No. This is so wrong.
To the people who dreamed this up please see the icon for what I'd like to do to you.
I can have a number which uses this "service", which I can put down on all those websites which ask for my phone number, and then sell it to the call-centre advertising industry.
A 5% share of the revenue will be quite sufficient. I have an old "burner" mobile I can use for this.
1) I make a call to someone because I need to speak to them;
2) Instead of a ring-tone I get an irritating ad offering me the option to "press x" to get more information, "press y" to purchase, etc.;
3) They think I won't just be really, really irritated and find another network provider?
If they all do it I can see a Kickstarter coming out for a "Paid for VMO with no ads"
Guys you have no say on this if it happens all the company's will jump on the band wagon
and when you ring the gas, electric, council, phone provider, anybody you have to talk to you will end up with marketing crap...its bad enough when i ring my doctors and have to sit there listening to them keep saying we need your call and it you go on-line we can help every few seconds
Now they want to make us listen to bloody adverts trying to sell us something we don't want or need.
Its got to be an American idea they are the only people to put up with it.
.. whilst I was waiting to talk to someone. Instead of hold music or (my preferred option) a bleep every couple of seconds, they played ads.
That created 3 problems:
1 - it seriously pissed me off, also because this was on my dime
2 - I could not tell when the caller was back online
3 - the person I was waiting for was their director. Who I didn't acknowledge when he came on, as I pretended I could not tell him from the ads.
Now I was in the position to go seriously retentive on their asses because they needed me instead of the other way around, but I have made a template letter/email now which use when another company does this - and in "this" I also include shops that insist on playing spoken ads through their speakers. I'm the guy thinking about spending my money with you - at least pretend you're interested in my shopping experience, or I'll go to where it's less annoying.
The only time I (marginally) accept ads is when I am put on hold and there is a mix of music and advertising for the company's own product. I might not like it, and I generally ignore it, but this makes a certain amount of sense.
Advertising for a different company simply to make a buck? I can see a "you must put the caller on hold x number of times" directive to all call-centre peons.
With more and more intrusive snooping powers being demanded by the various "intelligence" organisations, incessant adverts on all forms of media, telemarketers who ignore "Do not call" lists and legislation, and now the potential to suffer through adverts after already paying a company for its services, I cannot think of any reason to remain on the grid.
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