Optus pre-paid customers who are prepared to have advertisements on their mobile phone's lock screen can earn a free gigabyte (GB) of data each month, worth about $10.
Or they can earn $2 of credit for Optus's $1 daily plans, in effect giving them a free day of talking and texting.
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Optus offering free data
Optus is offering their pre-paid phone customers a free gigabyte of data or $2 extra credit every month if they download the Optus Xtra app.
This idea has been trialled before by Unlockd, a company backed by a who's who of Australian media, but Optus is using its own technology and ad-buying company for this product.
Customers must download the Optus Xtra app and let it put static and video ads on to their mobile phone. The ads sit on the "lock screen" that is swiped away to use your handset.
Once they have looked at ads for a billing cycle of 28 days, Optus will automatically add a reward to the next cycle. Optus normally charges $10 for an extra GB of data.
"Our pre-paid customers have told us they want to boost their data, but are also budget conscious. By giving customers the option to earn extra data through watching ads, Optus is enabling them to enjoy more of what they love, without spending an extra cent," Optus' director of product innovation, Megan Forster, said.
The advertising is being managed by Amobee, which is owned by Optus' parent company Singtel. It is using technology developed by New Zealand-based ad-tech company Postr that allows customers to view ads on their locked phone without having to swipe the screen to activate the ad.
"Other technologies [like Unlockd], require customers to unlock their handset before a pop-up ad appears on the screen, and then swipe the screen a second time before they can use their handset to makes calls or access the internet," an Optus spokeswoman explained.
![Customers must download the Optus Xtra app and let it put static and video ads on to their mobile phone.](/web/20161201102630im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/j/7/y/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gszk8k.png/1480392012807.jpg)
Customers can choose to view ads from eight categories: beauty, employment, fashion, government and politics, health, money, technology, and travel. Optus Xtra is currently available only on Android phones.
"The Optus Xtra lock screen format lets brand advertisers target highly engaged audiences, where they are guaranteed a full screen creative canvas and 100 per cent viewability," managing director for Amobee in Australia and New Zealand, Liam Walsh, said.
![Optus believes customers will look at ads in exchange for free data.](/web/20161201102630im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/v/d/p/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gszk8k.png/1480392012807.jpg)
Customers on My Prepaid Ultimate, My Prepaid Ultra Plus and My Prepaid Ultra get their free GB of data after 28 days and must use it within the next 28 days. Customers on daily plans must use their $2 credit within two days.
The idea of rewarding customers in exchange for watching ads has already been trialled by Lebara, which introduced Unlockd in October 2015. Lebara stopped offering Unlockd shortly before the former was purchased by Vodafone in September.
Unlockd was started by Matt Berriman and is backed by Catch of The Day co-founders Hezi and Gabby Leibovich, former Seven executive Peter Gammell, former Hitwise CEO Andrew Walsh, Ten Network director Siobhan McKenna, and Lachlan Murdoch. It has raised $15 million from investors.
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