As the rise of ad-blocking makes digital marketing more difficult, a Canadian startup called Caddle is making a foray into incentivized ads that could earn consumers earn up to $20 an hour.
The bottom line is, this is a very cost-effective way to engage consumers. If they’re on there and not converting to a purchase, it’s still basically a platform that has a more engaged audience
Ransom Hawley, Caddle
Launched in late November on iOS, Caddle has already worked with a handful of brands, including General Mills and South St. Burger Co. After downloading the app, consumers browse weekly offers that interest them and either watch a short video or fill out a questionnaire to get paid. Taking the next step to actually purchase some of the featured products means they can also get cash back by uploading their receipts.
Ransom Hawley told Marketing he started Caddle after working for several years as a senior key account manager at cleaning products manufacturer SC Johnson.
“I was seeing how it was becoming more and more difficult to connect and engage with consumers,” he said. “There was a plethora of opportunities to reach out, but we weren’t connecting with them.”
Incentivized ads have been available in the market for years, with apps such as SwagBucks and Perk TV also paying out cash or gift cards for ads watched. The long-term question is whether brands will see those participating in this model – which is sometimes also referred to as “value exchange ads” – as truly interested in their products and services.
“I’ve had a number of meetings with some fairly significant organizations and I’ve had that question a couple of times,” Hawley admitted. “The bottom line is, this is a very cost-effective way to engage consumers. If they’re on there and not converting to a purchase, it’s still basically a platform that has a more engaged audience.”
As with programmatic advertising and many other forms of digital marketing, there’s also the risk of fraud, where consumers could “farm” incentivized ad systems to rake in cash. Hawley said Caddle can identify duplicate receipts and its system is designed to only let a consumer watch an ad or fill out a questionnaire once.
“When they get to the questionnaire portion and answer in two seconds or faster, it’s also flagged as fraud,” he added.
A recent story in the Wall Street Journal suggested Caddle may be onto something. Though the newspaper described the model as “bribery,” it noted how firms like Zoombucks are working with brands such as Sony’s Crackle TV and quoted an agency who said it has executed incentivized ad campaigns for 40% of the top 200 advertisers.
Part of Caddle’s approach is hiring Samantha Kemp Jackson, a PR consultant in the tech space who is also a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post and other publications about parenting issues, as its consumer spokesperson.
Kemp Jackson said she has no patience for ad-heavy apps, usually deleting them right away. However, she said some of the offers on Caddle are as simple as uploading a photo of something related to your new year’s resolutions to get 50 cents. “People are uploading selfies already. In this case, it’s kind of fun and has that mutual engagement.”
Besides bringing Caddle to Android, Hawley said he will also be spending this year expanding the offers beyond groceries to areas such as restaurants and entertainment.
