On September 13th, iOS 10 will be released, ushering in a seismic shift in how we communicate. With the launch of iOS 10, iMessage will be getting its own store. That may not sound like a big deal, but considering that Apple has paid almost $50 billion to developers since the launch of the App Store, it definitely is. Apps in both the App Store and in iMessage will offer the same revenue split (70/30) between developers and Apple. The launch of the iMessage platform will mint a new generation of billionaire entrepreneurs and become the most valuable social platform in the west over the next five years.
There are already a billion active iOS devices worldwide, which will give apps in the iMessage store 100 times the distribution footprint compared to the App Store when it launched in 2008 across the 10 million phones that Apple sold that year. Nine years later we are about to witness the launch of Apple’s next big market. Brands, gaming companies and celebrities are poised to monetize their IP and products inside of the iMessage Store, which allows for Sticker Packs and iMessage Apps, both of which can be offered for free or for purchase. Commerce opportunities abound. The ability to add stickers inside of iMessage reinforces the global shift to a visually based communication medium.
With it, iMessage is positioned to be the new browser — the services we are accustomed to using on the web will now be able to live inside of iMessage. Existing companies will need to build these services and compete with startups that will be created to focus exclusively on services inside of iMessage. The opportunity for revenue-generating businesses is endless. We have only begun to imagine how people will communicate, shop, date and work.
With a store being added directly into iMessage, an inherently social app, consumers will be able to buy and share where they spend the most time on their phone. What’s more is that apps in iMessage will be lightweight in size and therefore quick to install, relatively easy to build, quick to spread. They’ll also be easy to monetize because there’s such a massive distribution opportunity with an estimated 800 million iMessage users.
iMessage is weaving together communication, creativity and collaboration by giving brands the ability to build truly interactive visually driven applications that let friends create content and experiences together in real time. Social shopping, dating and gaming will all be possible inside of iMessage. The dream of marketers of frictionless commerce is coming, quickly. With shoppable stickers that allow you to make a purchase, we are moving from conversation to commerce at an exponential rate.
With the advent of iMessage opening up, we are witnessing the next wave of brand communication and branded content in the mobile messaging space. For the first time, brands can offer visually rich native content for consumers within iMessage.
By adding a sticker store to iMessage, Apple is going head to head with Facebook’s Messenger, which has supported stickers since 2013. What remains to be seen is whether Apple will also introduce a bot store to compete with Messenger.
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