New Android application Belong wants to change the way we download wallpapers by offering reward incentives for those who take time to download.
Wallpaper applications are rife on Android, but few are useful in the world of monetisation. The typical revenue model for these involves the user paying for wallpapers or skins, where the money is then transferred to the designers account. The application developers will then take a cut of the revenue, usually a small percentage.
Belong changes the model by offering a new type of advertising revenue scheme that rewards users for embracing sponsored content rather than ignoring them. We saw a similar implementation in our review of the game Nonstop Knight, where users can periodically watch an online advertisement to earn additional coins, XP or items. Belong works much in the same way, giving the user rewards for downloading a wallpaper onto their device. The longer you keep these wallpapers saved on your smartphone or mobile device, the more rewards and discounts you will incur, giving further incentive to actually trial and test them.
For the designer themselves, they will be able to enjoy things such as impressions and engagement, thanks to the wallpapers being totally interactive. Obviously, this scheme seems to be aimed at more established brands rather than the average home designer. With the impressions tools and interactivity, we wouldn’t be surprised to see plenty of food and shopping brands jump on board. Imagine a wallpaper that can notify you when you’ve hit that monumental free coffee, then provide a quick link to receive it at your closest shop?
Belong is currently in a private beta, though interest for the app has already peaked the interest of some major brands. Speaking to developer Rupert Mason, he said that they’ve already had a meeting with a major media agency and, if they can meet 100,000 subscribers, they will get some big brands on board with the service. The application will be exclusive to Android, as Mason specified that the iOS operating system does not allow the features necessary to make this work.
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