Kindle Fire owners could soon be seeing something new when they turn their tablets on — ads. According to Ad Age, Amazon is looking to profit even more off its most popular product by offering up the welcome screen as ad space.
Ad Age reportedly talked to an ad executive who was approached by Amazon. The cost for two months of welcome screen time and inventory from Amazon’s “Special Offers” product will reportedly cost a cool $600,000.
Apparently agency executives aren’t convinced this is a good idea. According to Ad Age, Amazon isn’t telling whether or not these ads will just appear on new Kindle Fires, or ones that have already been purchased:
“It’s kind of an expensive buy to not get a guaranteed audience and measurement,” one of these [agency executives] said. “It doesn’t comply with a lot of our necessary planning rigor.”
For $600,000, you’d expect to know exactly how many people you’re reaching. Agency executives are said to be worried that if ads start appearing on the previously pristine welcome screens of old Kindle Fires, consumers will protest. Personally, I’d be upset if I bought a device with the understanding that it wouldn’t be full of ads, only to discover ads later on.
This could have implications for the next Kindle Fire, rumored to be a larger 8.9-inch model releasing during the 2012 holiday season. Amazon could potentially include ads on all new Kindle Fire models or offer a discount on ad-supported Kindle Fire units.
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