Kik Looks for advantage over Snapchat with new ad-targeting capabilities

These are the first steps to building a more dynamic ad product in the messaging world, which has grown explosively with users. Kik is a popular but still underestimated messaging app that works like a hub of contacts and content on mobile devices.

Advertisement Kik has registered more than 200 million downloads, and is consistently near the top of app ranking charts, just below a top echelon that includes Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Snapchat. Kik is operating in a young space, with millions of teenagers on the app because it doesn’t require a phone number to join. It competes against Snapchat for the attention of the youth and is trying to keep up with that app’s innovations and ad ambitions.

One area it sees an advantage is in targeting, because Snapchat is still an uncertain proposition when it comes to defining and hitting an intended audience. Kik first introduced Promoted Chats last year, which lets brands build a following in the app that they could then message. It later introduced keyword capabilities that helped brands communicate with fans through automated responses based on the keywords.

Source: adweek.com

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