Skype Planning To Bank On Advertising To Boost Income

Skype is planning to include advertisements in their services as a means to boost the ‎company income.
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The company began experimenting with advertisements in January. The Skype experience ‎had to be a stand alone; hence it was important to match the advertising with the Skype ‎environment. Skype was working with several leading advertisers, like Groupon, ‎Universal Pictures, and Visa, to make the effort worth the purpose. The advertisements ‎are to be released in the US, UK and German markets initially.
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Presently, the advertisements are to appear only on the Home tab in Skype for Windows, ‎and with the progress of time and feedback, ads could be moved to other or several ‎locations. ‎

In order to serve the right Skype environment, the ads would be location specific, gender ‎driven and matching with the age profile of the intended target group. Viewers in America will ‎not get to see an European Product advertised on their device. Users can also refuse to ‎share personal data with advertisers by choosing to opt out. ‎

Advertising, in one way, is a medium to invest to develop great products. The ads were ‎not meant for meddling with the Skype experience. Annoying pop-ups or flashy banner ‎ads during conversations would be avoided. Skype has an active user base of 124 million ‎every month. Only 8.1 million pay for particular services.‎