Operator Zain Kuwait has announced an agreement with Bildarb, a mobile app for making restaurant table reservations and for placing orders with restaurants. Zain will offer customers who use the app exclusive discounts of up to 35 percent. Bildarb offers table bookings, immediate seating, advance ordering and payment before arrival. It also offers the ability to split a bill among diners, locations and directions to restaurants without the need for other apps and a function for inviting family and friends to meals.

Through its partnership with Bildarb, Zain offers its customers and staff the following discounts at specific restaurants in Kuwait: 35 percent from Bruce and Clark, 20 percent from Freshii, 5 percent from Prime and Toast, 5 percent from Wasabi, 5 percent from Pizzetta, 10 percent from Bonchon Chicken, 10 percent from The Kitchen, 10 percent from Chubby Balls, 10 percent from Humble Burgers, 10 percent from Proper Sliders, and 10 percent from Junkyard.

Tarifica’s Take

Partnerships with smartphone apps, as we have written on a number of occasions, can be a fruitful way for operators to offer diversified services to their subscribers and also to include special, proprietary benefits along with them.

While there are many eating-oriented apps on the market, Bildarb appears to be especially well designed from the point of view of offering value-added services that are of genuine utility and are therefore appropriate for an MNO that seeks to increase its power to attract and retain customers.

Bildarb will likely be particularly useful for Zain’s business customers, given that their reliance on restaurants as venues for meetings and dealmaking. Conversely, it will of course benefit the restaurant business in Kuwait, since it helps restaurateurs expand their customer bases, boost productivity, improve customer service and develop new services. In terms of e-commerce, it also allows them to accept online payments and access statistical reviews through an administration portal. There is potential for Zain to gain new business customers from the ranks of those participating restaurant businesses.

It should be borne in mind that while access to Bildarb is not exclusive to Zain subscribers, the substantial discounts offered to them through the app create an exclusive aspect for the relationship and thereby strengthens the brands of both entities. A considering that food is an important connector between people in virtually all areas of life, a restaurant-based co-branding.