Week 4
Wilson, F. (2008). “Make money around free content” in Wired magazine. Online at http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Make_Money_Around_Free_Content and
Anderson, C. (2008). “Free! Why $0.00 is the future of business” in Wired online at http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-03/ff_free
Companies everywhere use the concept of ‘free’ products. These ‘free’ things are a great way to draw customers and utilise marketing methods. For example, businesses like Bakers Delight and Gloria Jeans offer ‘rewards’ cards, that grant customers a ‘free’ product after a certain number of purchases.
The trick behind the Bakers Delight card is; a customer needs to spend $5 before he/she can get a stamp. If a purchase is only $4.50, the card encourages them to spend more money to receive the stamp.
Another example in one of the readings was companies offering mobile phones free with no upfront charges. But take a closer look…
http://www.crazyjohns.com.au/products/mobilephones/manufacturer/mobilephonedetail.aspx?ID=3994
At Crazy Johns the N95 mobile is $749 upfront.
http://www.crazyjohns.com.au/products/mobilephones/manufacturer/mobilephonedetail.aspx?ID=6236
On a cap plan where the N95 is ‘free’, the customer pays $1176 over a period of 24 months.
Google is a great example of a business that makes a lot of money without appearing too. It has now grown into the biggest search engine in the world. It offers a range of applications including email, news, and pictures/video. Google also uses ‘Adwords’, a program for businesses.
‘When people search on Google using one of your keywords, your ad may appear next to the search results. Now you’re advertising to an audience that’s already interested in you.’ (https://adwords.google.com/select/Login?sourceid=adprog&subid=en-au-et-ap-lm&hl=en_AU)
Every time a searcher clicks on an ad, Google makes money. And that’s only one of the applications Google offers.
Ebay also charges people to advertise what they are selling, and extra charges apply if more than the standard amount of pictures are used.
Newspapers can utilise ideas like this when going online and advertising will remain a sole source of revenue.
An example of an eye-catching advertisement:
