FAQ
Participation & Points
Can I use a karaoke app the the same time?
If you want to use another app than request the microphone access, such as a karaoke app, depending on your device, you may need to SUSPEND media monitoring within the MediaRewards app. Some phones only allow for 1 app to use the microphone.
Why does participation in the Outdoor advertising and retail measurement require location access?
With your explicit consent, we may collect location (GPS) data to understand which retail stores and restaurants (chains) you may have visited or to which Out Of Home advertising you may have been exposed to, to provide you with more relevant surveys and content and to use is for the market research we do for our partners. We only use aggregated, anonymised data derived from your location data to provide analytics, and other services to these third parties. We ask for explicit consent for using your location data, and this is the legal basis for processing. You can withdraw your consent at any time by turning off location access for our app in the settings of your phone.
What does my TOP % ranking mean?
This is your position based on your point compared to others in the community. Only the TOP 50% will be entered in all prize draws. So, the higher your rank, the better your odds of winning.
What is 'suspend' or 'pause' mode?
You are always in control. You can suspend/pause monitoring and start monitoring when you want. Suspending/pausing monitoring does mean you no longer collect points for media monitoring.
How can I invite friends to win?
Depending on your region, you can also invite friends via the app for additional points. When the Referral feature is not available in your region, forward your friend to www.mediarewards.co to have them sign up to join Media Rewards.
What can I do with my points?
With your points, you will be entered into multiple prize draws. Per region, we have different monthly prize draw tiers. Your score at the end of the month determines your prize draw entries.
The app keeps prompting me to turn monitoring on but I haven't turned it off. What do I need to do?
Media monitoring may be paused from time to time by your iPhone. You will be notified when this occurs. Use these notifications to increase monitoring points, to stay ahead of the competition.
What is the benefit of inviting friends?
If the invite feature is available in your region, you can increase your odds of winning. If your friend wins, you receive the same prize. Furthermore, your point accelerator goes up by 1,0x when a friends joins.
What are point accelerators?
You earn points faster with 'Point Accelerators' by offering more anonymised data (location for Outdoor media & retail measurement), inviting friends, or completing your profile. For example, a '3x Point accelerator' means 3x more points for every couple of seconds that the app can perform media monitoring.
How quickly can I collect points?
You get points for every 5 seconds media monitoring is on. You earn points faster with 'Point Accelerators' by offering more anonymised data (location for outdoor media & store measurement), inviting friends, or completing your profile. For example, a '3x Point accelerator' means 3x more points for every couple of seconds that the app can perform media monitoring.
The app keeps requesting location permission?
If the app keeps requesting location permission, please go the settings in your device to apps. Select the Media Rewards app. Press permissions and select Location always on to earn points faster.
How do I have to participate in the prize draws?
Just leave your phone on, and we'll take care of the rest. Your score determines your position (For example; TOP 15%). At the end of the month, we determine in which prize draw you will be entered. This also called point collection moment. You'll automatically get a better score by leaving the app running in the background as much as possible.
How can I get more surveys to participate in?
Depending on your points, you can be invited to partake in surveys. Once a new survey is available, you will receive an email and app push notification for joining a survey. Always try to respond quickly to survey invites, as the survey stays open for a limited amount of time.
How long wil it take before I get a survey?
Depending on your points or rank, it may take up to 8 weeks before you get the first survey of a media measurement study. Typically, we first have to monitor if you are exposed to a particular TV or radio campaign. Then, we'll send you a survey to measure if your attitude towards the specific brands has been impacted positively or negatively, based on your (frequency of) exposure to the TV or radio campaign.
How long are my points valid?
Your points are valid for 1 month. Depending on your region, you will get 20% of your point bonus for the next month.
When do I get surveys?
You may be invited to partake in surveys depending on your points gathered for media monitoring. Depending on your score, it may take up to 8 weeks before you get the first survey.
What is 'power saving' mode?
When you're using your smartphone intensively or your phone battery percentage is low, Media Rewards will take a step back and switch off monitoring automatically and go into 'power saving'. Media Rewards is a casual rewards app, but more importantly, we want to preserve your battery when you need it the most. When your phone is on the charger or charged sufficiently, we will start again.
Sometimes the app is not monitoring. Does that affect my points?
No. You will receive points for the time that you leave the app running in the background, whether it's LIVE with monitoring or not. This is because the app doesn't monitor non-stop. However, if you choose to PAUSE monitoring manually or kill the app in the background, you will not receive points during that inactive period.
How does 'Media Rewards' work?
You can win and earn rewards in two different ways:
1. You earn points by allowing the app to automatically measure exposure to TV, YouTube, and radio ads in your surroundings. You never need to use the app actively. You can press the home button of your phone, and the app will continue to run in the background. You will automatically get a better score by leaving the app running in the background as much as possible. Your score determines your position (for example: TOP 15%). At the end of the month, we determine in which prize draw you will be entered. This also called point collection moment. The prize draw winners will be announced through app message on the 16th of the following month, i.e. the winners of the September prize draw will be announced on 16 October. The winners will receive a link via the app. Winners can click on the unique link to enter a PayPal address to receive your prize.
2. Plus, if you have enough points, you can be invited to brand surveys to earn gift cards. Just leave your app running, and we'll take care of the rest. Depending on your points or rank, it may take up to 8 weeks before you get the first survey of a media measurement study. Typically, we first have to monitor if you are exposed to a particular TV or radio campaign. Then, we'll send you a survey to measure if your attitude towards the specific brands has been impacted positively or negatively, based on your (frequency of) exposure to the TV or radio campaign. If you are partaking in a survey, it may take up to 2 weeks before you receive an email with your gift card voucher.
What is 'sleep' mode?
The app suspends media monitoring at specific times, such as night time, so we make the point system honest for all participants that only have there phone on during the day.
How do I get to a higher prize level?
Your rewards level is based on your score vs others in the community. Enable point accelerators to increase your score faster.
How can I earn more rewards?
Just leave your phone on, and we will take care of the rest. You'll automatically get a better score by leaving the app running in the background. Your rewards level is based on your score vs others in the community. Enable point accelerators to increase your score faster. When you are in a higher rewards level, you'll also qualify for surveys for which you can earn more rewards. If you comply with the rewards rules, you will be eligible to receive a reward.
Do I need to keep my phone and the app active or can I close the app?
The Media Rewards app is designed to work passively. You never need to use the app actively. You can press the home button of your phone, and the app will continue to run in the background. The app is not always LIVE with monitoring; it will automatically decide when to start and stop monitoring for media exposure. This means that you don't need to interact with the app to receive points or to be eligible for rewards. You may still choose to pause monitoring manually because we believe you should always be in control.
I have installed the app. Now what?
You'll earn points by allowing the app to automatically measure exposure to TV, YouTube, and radio ads in your surroundings. You never need to use the app actively. You can press the home button of your phone, and the app will continue to run in the background. Your points will be collected at the end of the month for the prize draws. Additionally, if you have enough points, you can be invited into brand surveys to earn gift cards.
Will the app impact my battery life?
The app is designed to run in the background and uses a negligible amount of power. There won't be any noticeable impact on the daily battery life of your mobile device. If you're using your smartphone intensively, the app will switch off monitoring automatically to make sure you'll keep enough battery for the rest of the day. If you're low on battery, we will completely stop media monitoring until you are charged again.
Why does participation in the TV, radio, video advertising measurement require microphone access?
Media Rewards is a platform where you can earn rewards by sharing your media habits. To collect points that earn these rewards, you may choose to allow us to use your device's microphone to recognise audio content, such as TV, video and radio around you to provide you with more relevant surveys. Here is how this would work. The microphone of your mobile device converts audio within the proximity of the device into code. We call this an audio fingerprint, which allows us to match against our database of audio fingerprints of popular audio-based content and advertising.
Rewards
When will I know if I win something?
The winners of the prize draws are announced through an app notification and on the website.
What do I earn with surveys?
This depends on the length of the survey or whether this survey is part of the media monitoring period. The reward will be indicated in the survey invitation.
When are prize draw winners paid?
For prize draws, we gather your points at the end of the month. The prize draw winners will be announced through app message on the 16th of the following month, i.e. the winners of the September prize draw will be announced on 16 October. The winners will receive a link via the app. Winners can click on the unique link to enter a PayPal address to receive your prize.
Is the prize draw always monthly?
We might have prize draws for shorter periods or more extended periods. It may also happen that we extend the prize draw period.
How do I know how much will I win?
Depending on your points, you will be entered into multiple prize draws. Per region, we have different monthly prize draw tiers. In the 'Score' or 'Details' section in the app, you will see your score. Your score at the end of the month determines your prize draw entries.
When are gift cards paid?
For surveys, you receive a gift card within 2 weeks after completing the study survey.
Payment
What to do when I haven't received my gift card?
It may take up to 2 weeks before you receive an email with your gift card voucher. If you haven't received an email, you may want to check your SPAM box. If it isn't there, please send an email to support@mediarewards.co with the email address you use with the Media Rewards app.
What is the procedure for the payment?
If your name on the prize winners lists, you will receive an email within 48 hours after announcements to claim your prize. The email will forward you to a special webpage where you can enter your PayPal account. You will then receive a prize via PayPal. For gift cards earned by completing surveys, you receive an email. Click on a link within the email to claim your gift card for listed retailers or Virtual Visa credit card.
How do I get paid?
If you are eligible to receive a gift card or prize draw prizes, you will receive an email where you can claim the cash prize by PayPal or receive a digital gift card for listed retailers or Visa Prepaid Cards. You can claim rewards if you are a prize draw winner or once you have been partaking in 1 or more surveys.
Why haven't I received my gift card yet?
There are multiple variables which need to be considered to receive a gift card. For example, you only can get a gift card if you complete surveys, but you will only be invited to partake in surveys if you have enough points. Please read the section 'How to earn rewards' for more information.
Privacy & Data
What profile information do your require?
We will ask for personal information, like your email address, age, gender, and postal code. If you want to take full advantage of the programme, we might also ask you to create a broader profile, which may include information about your occupation, education, household, shopper decision-maker, your way of commuting daily, your income range, etc. In addition, we collect Personal Data you provide in the context of a panel when you participate in a survey or in connection with the receipt and redemption of rewards and incentives, or characteristics about you derived from the data you provide, such as your age or in which region you live.
How are my survey answers used?
Don't worry, your responses are entirely anonymised. The answers of all participants are then aggregated to create insights on consumer attitude towards brands, in relation to advertising exposure. Individual answers are never shared.
Do I get to see what audio content you are measuring?
We must perform media research in a way that will not influence your media behaviour or without creating any bias in survey answers. Media Rewards will, therefore, not show you for which campaigns we measure advertising exposure.
How do you use my profile data?
We use this information to communicate with you, send you rewards and incentives and make a profile based on which we do the market research for our partners, as a necessary part of our services. By signing up, you enter into an agreement with us for our services. The legal basis for processing your personal data is, therefore 'agreement'. Don't worry; you can cancel at any point by deleting the app. Additionally, you can submit a request to have all data erased.
How do I turn off push notifications for Media Rewards?
You can withdraw your consent at any time by turning off push notifications for our app in the settings of your phone.
What data is collected?
So you can unlock value from your anonymised data and opinion, you may choose to allows us to use your device's microphone to recognise audio content, such as TV and radio around you to provide you with more relevant surveys. And with your explicit consent, you may collect location data to understand which retail stores and restaurants (chains) you may have visited or to which Out Of Home advertising you may have been exposed to, to provide you with more relevant surveys and content. We use the information to offer a more relevant survey to help brands and media companies improve the content and advertising experiences. The data from our panel is anonymised and offered in an aggregated way for market research reports. Example data: user_id: 1234, matched_content: ABC radio ad, audio_fingerprint: 265523236267, timestamp: 6:13 PM
Can I turn off my media monitoring?
You can 'suspend' monitoring in the app, and you can withdraw your consent at any time by turning off microphone access for our app in the settings of your phone.
Does the app record audio?
NO. Audio is never recorded or saved, and the app cannot identify conversations. The app can only identify media content by matching specific audio frequencies of advertisements and content. How this works: The app converts sound within proximity of your mobile device to a string of numbers, which are named 'audio fingerprints'. These audio fingerprints are matched against equivalent data from the audio of advertisements and content known to us. This enables us to securely and anonymously match the ads that you have likely been exposed to. We will use this information to present you with surveys and questions that are relevant to the audio-content and advertisements that you have been exposed to.
Where do you store personal data?
We use cloud-based services for processing and storing your personal data, Amazon Web Services in particular. The data that we collect from you may be transferred to a cloud-based service and stored in the same region where we collect the data. The collected Beatgrid ACR ID's (audio fingerprints) are stored in the database for up to 90 days. These cloud-based services have a Data Processing Addendum to their terms of service to ensure compliance with the regional privacy standards, such as the GDPR.
How much mobile internet data is the app using?
The app does not use any mobile data. We only upload your points, and advertising exposure match data once you are connected to WiFi en plugged into the phone battery charger. This is to avoid using your mobile internet data plan and avoid using the battery where possible.
Will my location be tracked everywhere?
NO. We only track specific locations that are relevant to the media research commissioned by leading brands and media companies.
Does the app collect or store my personal information?
We are very strict about protecting your privacy. That's why we have set up a fully GDPR-compliant technology, to make sure your data is handled with care. Media Rewards does NOT share any personally identifiable information about you. All data collection is performed securely, and your data sharing is fully anonymised. The or all users are then aggregated for the TV and radio advertising performance reports. We do not use your personal information other than to communicate with you to invite you for surveys or payout rewards.
For how long do you store data?
We keep your personal data for a maximum of two years. Anonymised (aggregated, no longer identifiable) data may be kept longer. You can submit a request to have all data erased.
Can I turn off my location monitoring?
You can withdraw your consent at any time by turning off location access for our app in the settings of your phone.
Account
How can I delete the app and erase my account?
You have the right to request us to delete data of you (data erasure). We will grant this request whenever possible and in particular when: personal data are no longer necessary for the purposes for which they were collected; the personal data have been processed unlawfully; you withdraw your consent (if the processing is based on this). You can submit your request regarding the above rights to our Compliance Officer via support@mediarewards.co. We will answer your request within one month.
How can I change my profile information?
Go to the profile section on your app. Press EDIT on your iPhone or the Pencil icon on your Android phone. You can now change your details such as birth year, gender, postal code or first name. Make sure you keep your profile complete to earn points faster.