Movie rental app offers credit for watching commercials

HitBliss offers free credit for movie rentals when customers choose to watch adverts relevant to them.

For home movie renters, one thing that can irritate viewers is adverts interrupting their show. Hoping to turn commercials into a positive thing for customers, HitBliss offers free credit for movie rentals when they choose to watch adverts. Users first create a HitBliss Earn account before downloading the Windows or Mac application and browsing the available advert categories for commercials that may interest them. Each time an advertisement is watched, the user gains credit in their account. Earning sessions can be carried out whenever the user wants and they can choose to skip ads if they don’t feel they are relevant. This helps personalize the commercials targeted at them, although there is an opt-out option for those who don’t want their history tracked. Once enough credit is banked in the account, it can be spent in the HitBliss Store on high-definition streamings of newly-aired series episodes, or new and old films. Checks are in place to ensure viewers don’t mute the commercials or open another application, and occasional prompts will appear on screen to check the viewer is still present. Ten minutes of watching adverts will earn enough credits to download a feature film. HitBliss makes commercials less annoying by enabling users to choose when and what they watch, while helping marketers more accurately target their campaigns. The service is currently in private beta and only available in the US – but could a similar enterprise work in your part of the world? Spotted by: Murtaza Patel