Truly personalised content is practically the holy grail for any content service provider. Not only does fuel interest from customers due to them receiving only content they like, but this in turn drives more consumers to the business. This new team-up between Ooredoo and Omani start-up O-Screen, aims to achieve exactly this, and then some.
When downloaded on your phone, this revolutionary new app will first and foremost offer users a tailored and engaging content experience. In addition, the app will also regularly offer users exclusive deals and promotions based on their interests, effectively rewarding you for spending time with the app. Ooredoo in particular will also benefit from 1 GB of free data every single month. And best of all, everything happens on your lock-screen itself, allowing you to close the app instantly with a simple swipe down on your device.
According to Hussam Al Lawati, the Country Manager and Co-Founder of O-Screen Oman, who we met up with earlier in the month, “With O-Screen we bring you the best of social media, publishing, and Global Media all in one application, only displaying the exact content you want, each and every moment of their day. Moreover, as an Omani company providing an app that is the first-of-its-kind in the region, we are proud to be able to have a media platform that allows us to highlight the work of so many talented Omani content producers, writers, artists, and organizations.”
Here are some more excerpts from the interview.
What governed your decision to partner with Ooredoo?
We understood that Ooredoo was always committed to finding unique and powerful ways to personalise a user’s digital content experience, making it more fun and rewarding. We felt that there would be great interest from their customers for access to practically limitless local and international content from thousands of publishers. Of course, we also felt that, along with great content, Ooredoo customers would enjoy having access to great rewards when they unlock their mobile phones via a wide range of vouchers and offers. In addition, Ooredoo customers will also be rewarded 1 GB bonus data every month through the app.
What brought about the idea for O-Screen?
Fundamentally, we wanted to build a product that rewards users for their time and engagement on their devices. We wanted our future customers to enjoy a tailored and reward-driven experience every time they pick up their smartphones. We also realise that customers today are using more and more data, so through O-Screen we’re giving them the option to boost their data allowance and stay connected for longer, all the while receiving the latest updates on lifestyle, news, launches, offers, and deals in the market.
What sets O-Screen apart from other apps of its type and how do you feel it will benefit the mobile user?
In terms of a product like ours and a partner like Ooredoo, we are the first-of-its-kind in this part of the world. In terms of what sets us apart, we believe we can offer our customers access to a next-generation media platform, giving them exclusive access to an experience that we feel they are now ready for; one that rewards them for viewing content on their devices. With O-Screen, you receive content, offers, editorial, and ads, each of which will be relevant to you.
The general audience are not normally a fan of advertising interfering with content in general, so how does O-Screen get around this, or in what way is the advertising different?
We feel that O-Screen is a revolutionary ad and content funded product that provides our customers with a real value exchange, be it discounts off their mobile phone bill, free data, or premium entertainment content, in exchange for viewing, not only ads, but also content or offers upon unlocking their smartphones. Ads cover only a minor percentage of the entire experience. We know people can find the cost of having a mobile phone frustrating; therefore, our hope with O-screen is to present you with a product that can both help and inspire you.
What steps have you taken to ensure the app doesn’t feel functionally intrusive in any way to the user’s experience when using their device?
By changing the way you think of content and advertising, and rewarding you for it. Our content is shared on the lock-screen of the phone so we know it’s not for everyone. However, we know there are enough people who like such content, highly relevant ads, and rewards. Think of it as a media channel for those moments in between all the texting and scrolling. We’ll introduce you to the best local content, artists and creatives, promotions, and more, all while you are rewarded for using O-Screen with a rebate on your phone or plan.
The more time you spent in the app, the better we get at predicting what you’ll like. Let us guide you to your next favourite band, travel location, or health trend. And we make it very easy to just swipe down to shut it off. We’ve basically hacked the advertising model by making your favourite brands help pay for your mobile phone cost. Advertisers are always paying for access to you. We’re just here to make sure you get a cut.
How does a business, content creator, or artist benefit from partnering with O-Screen?
We currently work with over 70 Omani creators and we are only just getting started. Our goal with all our partners is to create a strong value exchange for both parties (free of charge). For all our creators, we provide weekly features on O-Screen to all of our customers, allowing for our Omani partners to have a strong (and growing) source of additional eyeballs to their sites and social profiles. We offer free access for our partners to our Omani design studio, capable of designing content on their behalf for free, a scale. We are an Omani company, with an over 90% Omanisation rate. It is therefore very important for us that we support local Omani social initiatives, artists, youth, and charities. We do this not because we have to, but because we are proud of being Omani.
What additional features are you hoping to add to the app in the near and distant future?
We have learned a ton over the last two months and we are already working on a new product that we hope to introduce to the market in the next 6-10 months. We will be updating the entire user experience, to make it feel much more like a customized and beautiful magazine experience. We will also provide a variety of new ways through which our customers can be rewarded. Seeing amazing local and global content and ads is great, but we know users want more and better rewards and VIP experiences. We are confident the new product will provide exactly that.