O2 readies personalised mobile ad service

The company’s media arm, O2 Media, has already signed up leading brands including Adidas, Blockbuster, Interflora and Cadbury Gifts Direct, to participate in the scheme, which is called O2 More.

O2 customers will be invited to register for O2 More and select their preferences. They will then receive different forms of communication from brands relevant to these preferences, and based on information O2 holds on the customer.

Offers could include discounts from high street retailers and restaurants, special holiday offers, trials of new services or information about forthcoming promotions. These will begin as daily offers and money-off deals, in a similar way to how Top Up Surprises have been run in the past.

Shaun Gregory, managing director of O2 Media, says: “We know that advertisers and media buyers are demanding more accountability, efficiency and targeted opportunities. For the first time, O2 More creates a genuine opportunity for one-to-one personalised communication with potential customers.”

O2 Media aims to have one million customers opted in to O2 More by the end of 2010. The company has also opened a new London office “in order to better meet the needs of London-based advertisers”.

Gregory, the former CEO of Blyk, adds: “O2 More offers a win-win situation for advertisers, consumers and O2. For advertisers, products will be personalised and relevant to where consumers are, where they live and what they’re interested in. For consumers, they’ll receive exclusive launch offers based on pre-selected lifestyle information – ending interruptive advertising.”