People nowadays are highly dependent on their smart mobile devices. In fact, they use them for many different purposes, from sending and receiving emails, and instant messaging, to playing games. However, the only reward one gets from these activities is the contentment of having their work done. Softcodeit Solutions identified a void in the market in terms of remuneration for users of these applications, and took the initiative to reward people for the time they spend using these apps. “We realised that people’s time is valuable, and giving something more would help,” says Damitha Jayarathna, founder and chief executive officer of Softcodeit.
What is iPlayDeal?
iPlayDeal is one of our first owned products, launched on the 19th of January 2018. It is an ecosystem built for mobile app users, app developers and merchants to co-exist, while benefiting each other in a number of ways. In simple terms, it is an activity-based rewarding platform built on a point generation system. These points are called IPD points, and get accumulated in a pre-created user account. The platform already has over 7,000 users, with 60% of them being monthly users earning IPD points and spending them to grab deals/discounts featured by our partnered merchants.
[pullquote]THE PLATFORM ALREADY HAS OVER 7,000 USERS, WITH 60% OF THEM BEING MONTHLY USERS EARNING IPD POINTS AND SPENDING THEM TO GRAB DEALS/DISCOUNTS FEATURED BY OUR PARTNERED MERCHANTS[/pullquote]
Is this just another loyalty programme?
No. Our platform aims to give users a new and discrete value. Users have the leverage to earn the points they would need and not be influenced by the system. Apart from that, we haven’t restricted anyone from getting access to iPlayDeal. Anyone with a smart device could connect with us. The points they earn get accumulated in a virtual account, to which they could log into at any time.
What is in it for mobile app users?
A user is required to create an account by signing up with the iPlayDeal platform. This will give access to their account dashboard, where they could monitor their points, activities, grabbed deals and rewards. Apart from that, they could gift points to their friends simply by using the gift option found in their accounts, and wish for deals so interested merchants could consider it.
How can a mobile app user earn these points?
Users can find out which apps are enabled with the iPlayDeal platform simply by logging onto our website. Depending on the phone they use, users have the freedom to download these apps via Google Play and the Apple App Store. Once downloaded, they are required to sign in through the game/app. We have ensured that our platform will not disturb the true-app experience, hence, the login option is just a one-time activity and the rewarding procedures are found only on the developer’s end. Users will thereon be rewarded depending on a number of pre-defined criteria such as time spent, scores reached, location, etc. These criteria will be determined by the developer of the app.
Is this a traditional deal site?
No. Our bigger picture is to create a unique, seemingly networked ecosystem between users, developers and merchants, while encouraging Sri Lankan developers. Our brand promise is to add value to the precious time our users spend on their smart devices. This is the concept behind iPlayDeal; we do not merely want to be another deal site. In addition to all this, we aspire to enable merchants with e-commerce websites to connect their site with us in the future.
How can users grab deals from merchants?
Merchants who have partnered with us could feature their deals on our deals page. When a user is interested in a deal, they could redeem IPD points for the said discount and the rest to be paid directly to the merchant, either by visiting the store or to their representative in cases where they accept cash on delivery. Currently, we have ongoing promotions in order to familiarize users with our platform.
Why did you choose to launch with mobile games?
Mobile games are being played at an unbelievable rate and are very common among the young and middle-aged crowd. According to a survey we conducted, many of them have installed at least three games on their smart devices. They are the early adopters, and hence, the crowd we should market to. Their familiarity is mostly with simple game concepts such as Candy Crush, Temple Run or even Angry Birds that took the mobile gaming world by storm.
Will iPlayDeal be restricted to mobile gaming?
No. Like we mentioned earlier, iPlayDeal is a platform that could be integrated with any Android or iOS mobile application. It is a universal rewarding platform that caters to behaviours starting from the wake-up alarm to the goodnight message.
What are the benefits offered to merchants?
Advertising costs huge sums of money, and the ROI is very unnoticeable. But, in the case of connecting with iPlayDeal, merchants can experience an array of benefits as we market directly to an active crowd. During our research, we found that people love to get rewarded for things they do, and spend their rewards meaningfully. Hence, this fully fledged platform is a unique experience to our users, and thus one of the best chances to tap into a prospective crowd easily. Apart from that, as a senior in the software development industry, we take it as a responsibility to uplift young Sri Lankan developers to stand up on their own feet and achieve something big. By joining hands with us, merchants will be indirectly supporting this cause as well.
How could merchants upload their deals to the iPlayDeal platform?
Simple. We’ll be providing them with a merchant profile – a comprehensive dashboard where they could upload and manage deals, their business profile, schedule and publish deals, monitor detailed analytic graphs with forecasting, and enter their business locations. Conveniently, they could also enter deals while specifying the outlets from which users could claim a particular deal.
[pullquote]OUR BIGGER PICTURE IS TO CREATE A UNIQUE, SEEMINGLY NETWORKED ECOSYSTEM BETWEEN USERS, DEVELOPERS AND MERCHANTS, WHILE ENCOURAGING SRI LANKAN DEVELOPERS. OUR BRAND PROMISE IS TO ADD VALUE TO THE PRECIOUS TIME OUR USERS SPEND ON THEIR SMART DEVICES.[/pullquote]
As mentioned earlier, how are Sri Lankan developers benefitted via iPlayDeal?
Acquiring users is not an easy task, and retaining them is even harder. By enabling iPlayDeal in their mobile app, developers have the chance to increase their user retention and tap into our user base. Our services for developers are completely costless. We will also be carrying out marketing activities where we would be promoting their apps at no cost.
How could app developers and merchants connect with the iPlayDeal platform?
Currently, app developers and merchants who are interested could contact us by sending an email to [email protected] or even by leaving a message through the contact form found on our website www.iplaydeal. com. Our team will then follow up with them through the registration process. We also welcome them to write to us for further details.
What are iPlayDeal’s expectations of the future?
We are looking forward to spreading our roots in the directions of new technological findings like AR, VR and IoT-related functions to enhance and add more value to both social and corporate lives, while holding hands with popular developers and big brands in the world.