Canadian messaging app Kik is hoping to drive additional revenue by integrating advertising into its rewards program and having consumers earn emojis and other virtual currency.
Like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Waterloo, Ont.-based Kik is best known as a simple way to exchange short messages via smartphone. Kik Points, however, is a way to gamify its efforts to encourage other activities such as watching videos or downloading a sticker pack. New York-based MediaBrix said it would be working with Kik to introduce ads into that experience in way that feels native and relevant to the app’s largely Millennial demographic.
“It’s interesting because teens are an extremely coveted group by marketers, but also very elusive,” said Ari Brandt, Mediabrix’s CEO. “They’re probably one of the hardest groups to get to actually appreciate brands… they don’t look to brands as friends.”
This is how the service will work: when Kik sees that a particular user is running low on Kik Points, they will receive a notification that they have an opportunity to earn more in exchange for looking at an ad or watching a short video. There will essentially be three screens: one that requires them to click through, the ad itself, and then confirmation of the Kik Points they’ve earned. Brandt said most of the campaigns are between 15 and 30 seconds.
“We see this as co-branded,” Brandt said, with Kik’s logo always near the top left-hand corner of the ads. “We’ve contextualized it and make sure the brand is positioned positively.”
Josh Jacobs, president of Kik Services, said in an email to Marketing that ads have been part of Kik Points since last year, but that MediaBrix was brought on as a partner because its platform offers a great user experience. “We’ve worked with dozens of advertisers,” he said, emphasizing the need for everything to be opt-in.
MediaBrix not only delivers the experience but also the advertisers, following which MediaBrix will pay Kik directly. MTV and Disney are among the first brands to offer creative for Kik Points.
The notion of asking consumers to watch ads and in return for incentives has seen a resurgence, with apps like Caddle offering coupons and other offers. Brandt suggested that not all approaches will resonate, however.
“We don’t use the word incentivized, ever. It sounds like a dirty word,” he said, adding the company prefers “value exchange ads” instead. “It has to be done in a clear way where the user understands the value and wants to spend time with that brand.”
