Just because you don’t own a credit card doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy the privileges that come with it.

That’s the idea behind the UWtimate Download, a unique privilege programme coming to your mobile phone.

Just by downloading a wallpaper from e-zine theurbanwire.com, students and staff of Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) and their friends and family can enjoy discounts and benefits at about 50 participating merchants islandwide.

These include Spectacle Hut, Kai, Olio, Miss Clarity Cafe and Fabulous Tan.

Noting that mobile phones are an extension of youths’ lives, School of Film & Media Studies (FMS) lecturer Mr Robin Yee came up with this idea to gain the “mindshare, heart share and phone share of the youth market”.

The lecturer-in-charge of TriMedia Publishing, the student editorial consultancy which produces theurbanwire.com, Tribune and hype magazine, also likes that this alternative is “environmentally friendly” as no cards have to be made.

Mr Yee added he wanted good privileges not to be exclusive to certain phone plans, brands or even just Singaporeans, but to be passed on from phone to phone, using the power of social networking and viral marketing.

“However, it’s best that users of the UWtimate Download join UrbanWire’s community to receive updates and notifications via email,” added Aw Cheng Wei, 19, a Publicity, Advertising and Promotion (PAP) Specialist of TriMedia Publishing, which is his graduating 20-week Industry Based Project (IBP).

Cheng Wei and his fellow 3rd-year Mass Communication (MCM) TriMedia team mates went to popular youth hangouts such as Bugis Street, Far East Plaza and Suntec City in search of the right partners.

Shawna Bradberry, 20, another PAP, said, “It was pretty taxing at first, I had to get used to pitching to strangers and holding their attention and most importantly, to get them to say yes.” Many of the more than 100 merchants they had approached turned them down as they already had existing privilege programmes and feared creating competition for themselves.

UWtimate Download was conceived to celebrate UrbanWire’s 6th birthday and to reward its readers who give the online entertainment and lifestyle e-zine an average of 2 million hits a month.

Adeline Yeo, 19, an editor of UrbanWire, said, “UWtimate Download is the perfect birthday gift for our readers.”

While the discounts are in place, the launch party will only be held on Feb 15 at Home Club at The Riverwalk. 20 people Tribune surveyed said that they will use this privilege programme. Chian Yu-Chern, 19, a 3rd-year Banking & Financial Services student, said, “I would definitely download the wallpaper and use the privileges, as the stores which are participating are places I know and shop at.”