Video Apps Zooming to Popularity with Huge Advertising Opportunity

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    Video Apps Zooming to Popularity with Huge Advertising Opportunity

    A survey by Kalagato indicated a 128% increase in daily active users for the video-communication apps across five major platforms – Hangouts, Skype, Zoom, IMO, and House Party

    The advertising expenditures on these communication software companies, including Microsoft, Zoom, and others, have already surpassed $45 million in the very first quarter of the year, confirmed MediaRadar, an ad sales intelligence firm from the US. In contrast, the industry spent less than $14 million during this period last year. Data from Kalagato shows that the video conferencing apps have been continuously adding new users to their database. Also, people have been spending much more time on these platforms.

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    Zoom and House Party, which are the relatively new apps have experienced an increase of about 200% in their user base, Skype and Google Hang Out have witnessed a considerably moderate growth of 48% and 22%, respectively.

    Zoom recently announced adding about 200 million users since the beginning of this year. However, the app has landed in the soup due to some security related issues and breaches. Users have complained that Zoom has been negligent with its security features. The company has apologized for not ensuring security updates and then admitted that it was using Chinese servers to generate encrypted keys. And, as per Chinese law, a company needs to disclose all data residing on the servers in China. Frequent security lapses have resulted in Zoom customers migrating onto other platforms. This has resulted in a sudden rise in the popularity of other video-conferencing apps as well.

    The popularity of such apps is also evident due to the rise in the session time across platforms – Skype confirmed an 11% increase in session time, while Google Hangout reported a 53% increase. The primary impetus has come for House Party, which is at a 263% increase. The app had been insignificant until now, but lockdowns have given it a new life. It is widely used to play games and connect with their friends on a group video calling app. The app offers games like Charades and Pictionary, with no special access required. Such online apps have created enormous opportunities for firms to advertise on and reach maximum customers.

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    What is slightly confusing is that regardless of the increase in daily active users and session time – Skype’s open rate has witnessed a fall. While there was an enormous increase in the open rate for all platforms, Skype is the only one that shows a 6% decline. People are now using multiple apps on a single device – this can be one of the primary reasons for this decline.

    As lockdowns witnesses extension overall, these apps will definitely experience record-breaking popularity, with increased usage and expanding customer base. It is the right time for other companies to get associated with these platforms to advertise in order to reach out to the maximum audience.