Ever wondered how great would it be to receive a reward for each successful level crossed while playing a game on your Android phone? Be given a movie ticket for using an Android app! Well think no more, because PingOO will make it possible.
The man behind PingOO is Kapil Chawla, who can be referred to as a serial entrepreneur with experience in internet and mobile VAS, media and entertainment, IT/ITES sectors across operational and strategic roles, among others.
Chawla describes himself as a person with a keen interest in analysing business models, disruptive innovation and scalability of business ideas.
Speaking exclusively to AnimationXpress.com’s Sidharth Iyer, PingOO founder Kapil Chawla speaks about his new venture, his expectations at Casual Connect, his big plans for PingOO and much more…
Excerpts:-
What is PingOO all about?
PingOO is the rewards layer for mobile games and apps. We reward users’ in-game and in-app achievements with real world rewards. For brands we provide a way to be a part of user’s moments of joy without disrupting their experience.
You have been a serial entrepreneur, so what attracted you to this initiative?
Mobile is where a lot of challenges and hence opportunities are. For a market like India and many other emerging markets, the impact of smartphones will be even bigger. We are already the fastest growing smartphone market and very soon will be the largest smartphone market in the world. We believe mobile advertising and payments are two very large white spaces and PingOO is at the cusp of both.
What are your objectives at Casual Connect and why have you chosen to go there?
Casual Connect is an excellent platform for the gaming ecosystem to converge and network. PingOO has been chosen to be part of the NASSCOM delegation to the event and we are proud to be identified by the industry body at such an early stage. It provides us an opportunity to showcase PingOO to international publishers, who have significant users.
How does PingOO benefit the users of various games and apps?
PingOO is a win-win for users, brands and publishers. The current form factors of mobile advertising are mostly counter intuitive to user experience. PingOO makes advertising win-win for all stakeholders including the user. Think of yourself playing your favourite game and being rewarded free coffee for achieving a high score; that’s what PingOO does for users!
Which platforms have you tied up with?
Our current focus is Android. Other platforms are in the pipeline too.
In terms of brand associations, which brands have you got on board to support Pingoo? Which sectors are you targeting?
PingOO helps users get rewards that are meaningful for them. Rewards cut across categories like food and beverages, mobile talktime, entertainment, movies, travel, e-commerce and retail. We are currently doing pilots with various leading brands in each of these categories. Expect some announcements on this front soon.
How will PingOO enable its clients get higher life time value for its users?
For publishers PingOO drives up engagement and opens up a new revenue stream. PingOO rewards are serendipitous, so users keep coming back to the game or app, to discover more rewards. Our algorithms have reward caps, which ensure a balance between valuable rewards and user fatigue.
How many subscribers are you targeting; across geographies and demographics?
With our current partnerships and near future plans we are expecting to cross a few million monthly actives users over the next few months.
What partnerships are you looking at globally? Have you tied up with any mobile service provider or stores?
PingOO is an operator independent platform.
What kind of games will you be tying up with?
We are currently under integration with leading gaming studios and will make announcements over the next few weeks.
What is the revenue model for this venture? Is it a paid or a free service?
We help brands connect with consumers in their moments of joy and charge them on a cost per engagement basis. We will share the revenues with the game and app publishers. PingOO is free for users and publishers/developers.