T-Mobile has partnered with Bill Shrink, a startup that aims to help users lower credit card, mobile phone, and gas costs by analyzing their usage habits. They seem to have a solid recommendation engine that takes into account enough variables to produce a genuinely helpful result, at least in the cell phone and credit card categories. It's a nice play for T-Mobile who is taking full advantage of the "third-party" recommendations the engine produces. Unsurprisingly, T-Mo plans come out on top most frequently. The inference that Bill Shrink is an objective source of information and a trustworthy tool will likely be lost on some of their target audience, but at least the logic is sound. Bill Shrink does in fact deliver objective results and T-Mobile is generally the lowest cost option among the big four carriers.
The deal is certainly a huge win for Bill Shrink given that T-Mo has ponied up for a national TV spot. Not to mention the credibility boost Bill Shrink gets. It's clearly tough for startups to generate revenue from advertising alone, so the importance of getting a foot in the door with a big brand is significant. From here it's much of a stretch to see some quick growth and a couple more brands jumping in while the price is right.
Partnering with a startup is a good way for a big brand to launch an innovative campaign. It's always easier to buy innovation than generate it in-house. Especially if your company is battleship-sized.
Dan Neumann
Strategists & Planners
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