Lead Story - July 2005

OPERA TELECOM BRINGS SCRATCH-CARDS TO MOBILES


- Scratch n' Win provides new engaging way to market brands through prize giveaways and downloadable mobile content -



20/7/2005 International mobile services company, Opera Telecom, has partnered with TeleScratch Ltd to launch 'Scratch 'n' Win'. This unique application for mobile phones will launch on 25 July 2005 and invites customers to scratch a traditional scratch-card interface using their keypad, to win prizes.

Players of 'Scratch 'n' Win' are asked to scratch off panels revealing underlying symbols. The revealed image then tells the player if they have won, and players can either ring or text their details to receive instant prizes of up to £1,000. The application uses JAVA and is therefore compatible with the highest number of handsets on the market.

Phil Davies, Sales and Marketing Director, TeleScratch Ltd, comments, "Scratch 'n' Win has given us the opportunity to take the traditional scratch-card format into the mobile arena. It is increasingly difficult to capture the consumer's attention and this form of marketing is unique as it invites user interaction and allows brands to capitalise on the recent explosion of mobile technology."

Opera Telecom is launching and marketing the 'Scratch n' Win' campaign, as well as providing the infrastructure and billing technology to deliver the content.

Davies continues, "We chose to work with Opera Telecom because of their high profile within the mobile industry, and their specialised knowledge of developing mobile marketing campaigns. One of our main aims is to continue our leadership in mobile marketing and Opera Telecom are helping us to pursue this."

Moving forward, Opera Telecom and TeleScratch Ltd will provide scratch-card technology as a white-label application, whereby companies can add their own branding and content, and easily integrate this new form of marketing into their existing advertising campaigns. The scratch-card format will enable organisations to increase their customer database by asking consumers to enter competitions, then subsequently offer discount vouchers, promotional codes and big prizes to encourage on-going consumer engagement.

Davies concludes, "This is our first venture into the mobile market place, but it is only the start. We plan to work with Opera Telecom to take this technology into a wider market as we believe the success of the format will be highly profitable and successful. It is a novel idea for companies as well as the customer, and has huge possibilities and potential."

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