Type "Pizza" Here

In recent years, its always been an expectation that brands have their own mobile application.  This way consumers can connect and be sure to stay up to speed with their favorite brands any time and anywhere.  Now all of this is beginning to change.

These days, consumers and smartphone users have fewer apps than ever before. The few apps that they do have are typically utility or entertainment-based, such as games, video streaming apps, and social networking apps.  Even though consumer's downloading habits have been on a bit of a decline, the use of smart phones and messaging apps, however, have continued to rise.  With that said, it's imperative for brands and advertisers alike to grasp more mobile leverage aside from their owned app.

Approximately 80% of smartphone users have mobile messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, GroupMe, WhatsApp and Kik, just to name a few.  So why not integrate brand messages, ads and some subtle influence where mobile users are actively spending a majority of their time?

In fact, many messaging apps are in the works of introducing multiple strategies that brands can utilize to distribute their content and ultimately monetize.  Since the platform is a space where consumers are fully engaged and spend a great deal of their time, this can potentially open up a whole new realm for brands and advertisers.

Messaging apps allow for artificial intelligence within the apps to see and interpret what the user is talking about.  For example, lets say you and a friend are chatting in an app about an upcoming event in town. Your mobile messaging app can then recognize what you're talking about and then cultivate suggestions for tickets and deals for this event.  This right here can eliminate unnecessary steps in the consumer process, like going to the website online, inputting your location and typing in all your card information just to purchase a ticket.  Apps like Kik are implementing certain technologies that allow consumers to purchase products or services within the messaging app itself.  By doing so, Kik has made the mobile consumption process a lot easier.  I'm personally excited to see where this technology goes.  Maybe next time I bring in a snack, I'll be able to type in "pizza" and Lou Mal's will be on it's way in matter of minutes :)