At a first glance, the concept of getting paid to watch adverts sounds far too
good to be true to the discerning consumer who, plagued daily by false
promises and scams, has become accustomed to asking – what’s the catch?
They may find it refreshing to find out that in this instance, there isn’t one.
SeeSayDo.mobi is an advertising platform which runs on a win:win business
model, incentivising a consumer’s brand experience while providing companies
with critical product feedback and a shot at reaching the Holy Grail of
marketing… a call to action.
Attention as an asset
Aside from creating effective channels of communication between brands and
their target consumers, SeeSayDo aims to empower its users by turning the
attention they are willing to apply to an advert, into a useful currency.
Once a consumers have registered on the SeeSayDo site, they are eligible to
receive rewards in the form of airtime, cash or data. The process is self-
explanatory:
See – watch the available adverts which offer payment on the site.
Say – answer a few questions about the advert.
Do – respond to an invitation to further your experience and contact with the
brand.
A savvy start-up
For Kali Ilunga, global CEO of SeeSayDo, his experience in the realm of digital
marketing, which included founding the mobile content platform, Spoken Ink,
brought about an idea to create a service which would appeal to a large mobile
audience. From the phase of inception, Ilunga believed that by developing a
vision for the company which exceeded functionality, and investing in the right
team, his company would reach stand-out status among any potential
competitors.
“The thinking was that a start-up is similar to a train, which could change
direction at any time. It was important to get people who had a passion for the
project and great skill within their own jobs, on board,’ said Illunga.
Liandi Kirkham, COO of SeeSayDo added: “I feel like our differentiating factor
goes beyond the value we offer. We want our users to feel that they can benefit
from the rewards, but that advertising can make their lives better, and that they
can do it on their own terms.’
Building BRICS
“When it came time to launch, it was quite clear that emerging markets were the
place to go as they contain large populations with access to phones, and see
cash, airtime and data as valuable commodities,’ said Ilunga who considered
Brazil, Russia, India and China before settling on South Africa as the home for
his business.
“We know that if we get it right in South Africa, because of the youth market
and how mobile savvy they are, we could succeed anywhere,’ commented
Ilunga.
Although the goal is to eventually expand reach into Africa, Ilunga wanted South
Africans to feel like they were an integral part of the story and pioneers in the
new culture of interactive mobile advertising.
Ilunga plans to develop a SeeSayDo app and make the platform accessible
across all devices. He concluded: “2013 was about testing the brand, 2014 is
about establishing it and from there we will allow the opportunities which come
our way, to guide us.’
