Young people spend around six hours a day on their smartphones, a behaviour that many find worrying – including Belgian entrepreneur Sebastien Haas, founder of the start-up Balnz (pronounced balance). He set out to find solutions to reduce screen addiction, and came up with one: rewarding users for cutting down their screen time. RMB, the Belgian sales house for the public broadcaster RTBF as well as for iconic brands such as NRJ, was quickly convinced by the potential of this idea. Together with Venture by Delaware, RMB invested capital in the company to help launch the project, which is closely aligned with their mission to address societal issues and promote consumer wellbeing. An innovative revenue diversification project was launched.
Set a challenge, the brand provides the rewards, the sales house packages
Balnz stands out thanks to its innovative approach and disruptive positioning: it offers a positive, smart, and effective solution rooted in the brain’s reward system (dopamine). Instead of using the same techniques as social media apps to keep people glued to their screens, Balnz flips the logic on its head, stimulating off-screen time by rewarding users when they do not use their smartphones.
Picture this: a parent, teacher, friend, or manager sets up a “challenge”, i.e. a set period during which participants must resist using their phones. They can invite children, friends, students, or colleagues to take part. Each challenge is tied to a reward chosen by its initiator, boosting motivation and triggering the participants’ reward circuits. At the end of the challenge, those who succeed receive the promised reward.
That’s where brands can get involved, that’s where the sales house comes in. For RMB, the fit is clear: it’s mission meeting revenues, an explicit path to revenue diversification that fits both PSB and Private media mandates and speaks the language of advertisers. Brands get more than an impression in a feed: alignment with a societal mission, visibility in a focused experience, and association with measured, off-screen moments, not just another GRP.
Less scrolling, more value: mission delivering revenue diversification for PSBs and Private Media
A beta version of the app will be rolled out in September 2025 to a select group of users, allowing Balnz to gather feedback and make final adjustments ahead of its public launch shortly afterwards.
By mid-November, an enhanced version will follow, enriched with a catalogue of Partner Rewards. This new feature will enable brands to actively support Balnz’s mission by offering their own incentives, motivating users with a variety of exclusive offers. Wonderbox was the first partner to come on board, providing a wide range of discounts on its products – an especially meaningful collaboration, since gift experiences naturally encourage human connection and remind us of the importance of living in the moment.
Although born in Belgium, Balnz already has its sights set on expansion across other European markets. The company intends to build partnerships with local media sales houses capable of commercialising ad space within the app. The solution is designed around multiple media universes, offering brands fresh opportunities for meaningful activation campaigns. With a strong purpose-driven theme and a disruptive, diversified media proposition, Balnz is well-positioned to appeal to advertisers eager for innovation and new trends.
Together, RMB and Balnz now form a strategic partnership that is set to capture industry attention, and perhaps even inspire the wider media ecosystem. Thanks to the data involved in this project and the nature of the inventory, this is also placing RMB in a new interesting space for brands: commerce media (also called retail media).
Wonderbox confirmed as exclusive partner for the launch
Wonderbox and Balnz turn freed minutes into memories. Culinary discoveries, adventurous escapes, quiet resets, their mission is experiences, lived. The fit is natural: Balnz reduces screen time through positive challenges and brand-funded rewards; Wonderbox supplies the offline moments to fill the space.
As Balnz’s first official partner, Wonderbox sends a clear signal: positivity, experience, balance, shared values and commercial clarity. The joint aim is simple and human: healthier digital habits and unforgettable, real-world moments. The centre of gravity shifts, from hours behind a screen to the stories you remember once you put it down.
“Working on this project with the Balnz team has been inspiring. We quickly realized that we’re driven by the same vision: helping people use their time for what truly matters. For us at Wonderbox, that means turning free time into unforgettable experiences. Partnering with Balnz is a perfect match.”
The collaboration also highlights how links between sales houses and commercial partners can form around shared themes. In Belgium, the entry point is digital balance, but the model could apply to other responsible-use themes. Comparable initiatives could be reproduced in other markets where similar concerns exist.