More on sachet marketing….this time for mobile phones in the Philippines.

95% of the Philippine mobile phone market is pay as you go, according to Springwise (excellent free email newsletter - but we want an RSS feed!). But with average annual household income at around USD 1,000, the kind of top up levels we’re used to in the West (say, USD 20) are prohibitive.

Even micro top ups have been a problem (USD 3.5).

So Smart, a local operator had its moment of genius and launched Smart Buddy turning its customers into potential sales agents.

The system allows customers to purchase top ups and re-sell them to other Smart customers. This allows them to alleviate their own cash flow. But they also get a commission of 150 pesos for every 1,000 pesos they resell - about USD 2.60 on every USD 17. Don’t forget, in this context, a nice little earner.

So far 100,000 people have signed up to re-sell airtime in affordable chunks to friends and family.

Nice thinking, guys. Actually, it wouldn’t be such a silly idea in more developed markets. The perennial cry of cash strapped teenagers is “I ran out of credit”.

I’m pretty sure you can’t transfer credits in the UK and other markets, but I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong.