Amazon has released a new budget smartphone in conjunction with manufacturer BLU, called the R1 HD. The new phone is available at a low price of $50 and comes with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. What is the catch you ask?
Very simply, BLU can offer the smartphone at this price because of its partnership with Amazon. Everyone who buys the smartphone is automatically delivered Amazon ads within apps and internet services. BLU also offers a more expensive ad-free version at $100. Because the price is key when appealing to BLU’s bargain-hunter audience, the ads won’t put too many off. This is a well thought out media approach because bargain hunters are also Amazon’s key target audience.
Let’s be honest, no one in the market expects this phone to outsell the iPhone. The functionality and capabilities just aren’t strong enough. But, it is a great concept and could lead to a consequential uplift in Amazon’s annual revenue.
In the past, Nexus and Google collaborated to attempt this strategy and convince users to use Google-only products. Yet, it did not lead to the desired uplift in logged-in Google users, leading to others potentially shying away from this idea. But Amazon and BLU’s partnership is different as they offer strong discounts to a retail audience on a retail platform.
Integrating a media platform and a device is ingenious, especially for the mobile market. You may have heard that Microsoft is planning to make logins compulsory for anyone using Windows 10. If this happens, the impressive wealth of data available for Microsoft will aid in promoting their network, a potential data-management platform (DMP) and cross-device attribution. By promoting this level of commitment from Amazon customers, Amazon can refine their site to offer a user experience with products that are relevant to a user’s online behaviour.
All Response Media Viewpoint
This is groundbreaking for a retail website. Amazon is becoming a strong platform for media agencies and advertisers to consider as an inventory source in the future. Amazon is likely to know more about their customers than any other retail site in the market. We are all excited to see how this proposition fairs, and whether it means a future change in the way we deliver media and aid in the ongoing growth of mobile.