The social media advertising juggernaut for brands is getting more and more competitive. Facebook is soon starting ads on WhatsApp as well.
Says Sahil Shah, EVP – operations & media, WATConsult, "There are reports that WhatsApp will do two rollouts. First will be a Facebook/Instagram ad with a 'chat on WhatsApp' button and the second will be ads on the WhatsApp Status Stories. Brands who currently have a business account of WhatsApp like MakeMyTrip, BookMyShow, etc. will be the early adopters buying into the first rollout."
When Facebook acquired WhatsApp in February 2014 for $19 billion, it had promised its audience an ad-free usage for the first five years. "And now it seems Facebook is desperate to leverage WhatsApp, one of the largest social media and messaging platforms with 1.6 billion global users, and monetise it to the fullest," say experts.
TIME TO MONETISE
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- India, with nearly 400 million WhatsApp users, will be a key playground for Facebook to monetise through ads
- If WhatsApp can integrate re-targeting, it will allow users to not only receive a personalised ad but also have a meaningful conversation
- WhatsApp needs to build rich media capabilities inside the chat environment
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Experts believe India, with nearly 400 million WhatsApp users, will be a key playground for Facebook to monetise through ads. Digital media ad spend in India is predicted to grow at a rate of 32.7% to
Rs 14,410 crore this year, making up 21% of the total advertising expenditure, according to a report by Dentsu Aegis Network. Another report by MMA and Group M states that 70% of the Indian digital ad spends go towards mobile advertising. While as per Statista estimates, 60-65% of spends on digital are on social media.
But how should brands leverage WhatsApp as an advertising channel? According to Saurabh Pacheriwal, founder, Gemius, adding another platform to advertise helps enhance the recall value for brands. "Think about it as a brand advertising on electronic media, OOH, BTL and create effective digital campaigns. This can create an effective recall for the brand and allow it to have better communication with users."
"The truth is that advertising on any medium is technically 'intrusive'. Consumers are aware of this. The key is in the content that reaches the consumer," says Sunil Penugonda, associate VP, Dentsu Webchutney.
Currently, brands like Tinder, McDonald's, Zomato, Reebok have made a backdoor entry to advertise on WhatsApp through branded GIFs and stickers which reach consumers through keyboard applications or downloads and then are given the option to add stickers and GIFs to their messages," says Ajit Narayan, CMO and programme head at brand advocacy platform SOCXO. "Whether these will work or not is a different question. From a brand and business perspective, these are trivial hi-jacks which are only a 10-minute hype and worthy of nothing more. For brands to make a real mark, marketing folks need to think seriously. And then think some more on what makes people connect with them," adds Narayan.
According to Penugonda, personalisation and re-targeting are two opportunities for brands on WhatsApp. "Brands have struggled to deliver personalisation in terms of the medium. WhatsApp advertising will create a shift in personalisation. Re-targeting does not allow dialogue/engagement with a potential customer. If WhatsApp can integrate re-targeting, it will allow users to not only receive a personalised ad but also have a meaningful conversation with the brand," explains Penugonda.
Shah feels the early movers will be brands who want an artificial intelligence (AI) led conversation that can result in a sale. "For example, an automobile brand can and must use WhatsApp to drive showroom footfalls through a complete automated bot. Once a user opts to chat, the brand can gather insights through interactions and with the consumer's permission, send out messages for free,'' explains Shah.
Experts advise brands to refrain from hard selling. "The focus and challenge for the marketing and advertising community are to make great content and not get into a hyper sale mode. Branding with content is the art form that the marketing community will have to focus on. And WhatsApp ads will get consumed and engaged with," says Narayan.
Shah says WhatsApp needs to build rich media capabilities inside the chat environment, just like how they have done on Messenger. "It will be WhatsApp's responsibility to ensure brands are not being intrusive, or it will work against them. And knowing Facebook, they will tread carefully as user experience has been a key priority for them."
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