China’s popular messaging service provides added customisation for marketers and consumers alike
WeChat, one of China’s fastest-growing messaging services, has launched its new self-serve advertising system that may substantially change the way advertisers and consumers interact.
The messaging service, similar to the popular WhatsApp platform, will provide greater flexibility for its users. Firstly, users will be able to blacklist certain advertisers from their accounts – a service that could also extend to certain industry verticals. It will also allow users access to WeChat data, such as impressions, clicks and revenue sharing and would allow for more flexibility on mobile payments.
Advertisers meanwhile will be able to top up their advertising accounts more easily, pause or restart advertising campaigns and also upload a greater host of images onto the service. This, coupled with a more detailed advertising efficacy metrics system, will enable WeChat advertisers to monitor their campaigns more closely.
Indeed, the new offering will allow advertisers to see individual impression times of single advertisers on specific users, allowing them greater insight into user behaviour.
However, it has yet to be seen how zealously users will blacklist advertisements and to what extent WeChat will allow constant blacklisting, both of which could have a negative impact on a vast number of marketers and their campaign.