Latest news with #WhatsAppStatus
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
MarTech+ #4: AI-Powered insights, WhatsApp monetisation, and the evolving CMO
Dear Readers, Get ready for a deep dive into the latest MarTech innovations! This week, we're exploring how AI is revolutionising consumer research at major companies, uncovering a massive new advertising opportunity on WhatsApp, and discussing the transformative shift in marketing leadership. Let's see what we have today: How ITC is Fine-Tuning its Consumer Research Practices Using AI This article reveals how ITC is integrating Artificial Intelligence to revolutionise its consumer research. By leveraging AI, ITC is moving beyond traditional, time-consuming methods, streamlining processes, and enabling rapid analysis of vast amounts of qualitative and quantitative data. The company is using computational AI for agile solutions and fine-tuning generative AI models with specific consumer data. Why you should care: For MarTech professionals, this story highlights the practical, real-world application of AI in market research. It demonstrates how AI can accelerate data processing, provide deeper consumer insights, and enhance the efficiency of product development and sales strategies. Read the full article WhatsApp Status Ads: The Next Frontier in Meta's Monetisation Playbook? Meta is strategically introducing advertisements on WhatsApp Status, marking a significant step in its monetisation strategy. With nearly three billion monthly active users globally, WhatsApp offers an unexploited audience for advertisers, initially focusing on brand awareness. The article emphasises WhatsApp's immense scale, especially in India, and how the high daily engagement on Status has made monetisation inevitable. While initial pricing will be lower for top-funnel awareness, Meta's long-term vision includes full-funnel commerce within WhatsApp. Why you should care: This is a game-changer for digital advertising and MarTech. WhatsApp Status ads open up a massive, yet previously untapped, audience for brands. For marketers, this means exploring new channels for engagement, especially in regions where WhatsApp is also brings new challenges and opportunities for creative ad formats, conversational commerce strategies, and navigating privacy-first advertising environments. Read here.. The CMO Is Dead. Long Live The Chief Model Officer This thought-provoking piece discusses the evolving role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) in the age of AI. It posits that the traditional CMO, focused on storytelling, is becoming outdated, making way for a new role: the "Chief Model Officer." This new leader will be responsible for designing and managing the AI systems that shape brand communication and consumer interaction. The article notes that while many marketers are using generative AI, confidence in integrating it into long-term strategies is low, highlighting a crucial skills gap. Why you should care: This article is vital for MarTech professionals because it redefines the future of marketing leadership and strategy. It underscores the critical need for marketers to move beyond simply using AI tools to understanding and shaping the underlying AI architectures. Developing AI literacy, recognising model limitations, and building feedback mechanisms into AI systems will be paramount for success. Read on In case you missed it The rise of omnichannel programmatic: How can brands stay ahead WhatsApp messaging to cost more for businesses in Meta's new pricing mode Current computers not designed for AI, says Sam Altman, reversing stance on AI hardware That's all for this week's MarTech+ update! We'll be back next time with more insights. In the meantime, why not share your thoughts on social media? Tag @ETBrandEquity on LinkedIn with your take, we're listening. About Us Each week, we unpack the technology trends shaping marketing, without the jargon. Expect sharp insights, real-world brand moves, and smart signals to help you stay ahead. If you think technology is transforming marketing and want to understand its impact at the consumer level, this newsletter is built for you. Stay tuned for the next edition of the MarTech+ newsletter, rolling out every Wednesday. - Team ETBrandEquity
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
WhatsApp status ads: The next frontier in Meta's monetisation playbook?
By Bhavesh Talreja When Meta quietly confirmed that WhatsApp Status ads will soon become a part of its broader monetisation strategy, it marked a significant shift- not just for Meta's business, but for the entire digital advertising ecosystem. For years, marketers have speculated when Meta would unlock the massive potential of WhatsApp's user base for advertisers. That moment is finally arriving, and as an adtech partner working closely with global brands, we at Globale Media see this development as a high-potential but nuanced opportunity that demands a careful strategic approach. The Untapped Giant: WhatsApp's Unparalleled Scale WhatsApp's scale is hard to overstate. With nearly 3 billion monthly active users globally as of early 2025, it's Meta's most widely used property- yet it has remained largely ad-free until now. More than 1.5 billion people use WhatsApp daily. In India alone, WhatsApp's single largest market. Let's begin by putting the scale into perspective. According to Statista, WhatsApp had over 2.7 billion monthly active users globally as of Q1 2025, making it the most widely used messaging platform in the world with over 535 million monthly active users (MAUs) and more than 500 million daily active users (DAUs). India, WhatsApp's largest market, alone contributes more than 500 million daily users, many of whom actively engage with WhatsApp Status , its ephemeral content-sharing feature similar to Instagram and Facebook Stories. For years, Meta resisted monetising WhatsApp at the same level as its other platforms, focusing instead on user growth and building trust through its privacy-first architecture. But with WhatsApp Status reaching levels of daily engagement comparable to Stories across Instagram and Facebook, where Meta already generates billions in ad revenue- monetising Status was only a matter of time. According to Insider Intelligence, Meta generated over $120 billion in global ad revenues in 2023, with nearly 80% of that driven by its flagship properties: Facebook and Instagram. WhatsApp remains the underutilised frontier. The introduction of ads in WhatsApp Status is Meta's strategic move to tap into a massive, highly engaged, yet relatively unexploited surface. How WhatsApp Status Ads Differ from Instagram & Facebook Stories At first glance, WhatsApp Status ads may resemble Stories ads on Instagram or Facebook, but key differences exist- both in terms of user mindset and advertising dynamics. Unlike Instagram or Facebook, where users consume Stories content often expecting branded content, influencer collaborations, or commerce-driven interactions, WhatsApp Status is a deeply personal space. Users primarily engage with updates from close contacts- friends, family, colleagues- rather than public creators or businesses. This makes user intent significantly different. On Instagram Stories, brand content feels natural because users are often in a discovery mindset. On WhatsApp, however, advertising will need to tread carefully to avoid disrupting intimate peer-to-peer interactions. As an adtech agency, we advise our partner brands that early creative approaches for WhatsApp Status ads should be subtle, contextual, and non-intrusive. Educational storytelling, emotionally resonant campaigns, or community-centric messaging may perform better than hard-sell, transaction-driven creatives. The Edge for Advertisers: First-Mover Advantage WhatsApp Status ads offer unique advantages for brands: 1️. Massive Untapped Inventory Brands gain access to a highly engaged audience that hasn't yet been saturated by ad fatigue. Compared to Facebook and Instagram's mature ad ecosystems, WhatsApp presents clean, premium inventory with strong viewability potential. 2️. Trust & Brand Safety Users trust WhatsApp for its private, secure, and encrypted communications. Being visible within Status allows brands to engage users in a trusted environment, reducing the noise of competitive ad clutter. 3️. Conversational Commerce Potential In markets like India and Brazil, conversational commerce is booming. With WhatsApp Business , click-to-chat ads, product catalogs, and native payments already being rolled out, WhatsApp is uniquely positioned to bridge awareness and commerce inside a single platform. 4️. Low Entry Costs Initially Industry analysts expect WhatsApp Status ad CPMs to start significantly lower than Stories on Instagram or Facebook- giving brands a chance to experiment, gather insights, and optimize early before competition heats up. Case Studies: What We Can Learn from Global Messaging Apps Interestingly, WhatsApp isn't the first messaging platform to explore in-feed or story-based advertising. WeChat (China): With over 1.3 billion monthly active users, WeChat's Moments Ads allow brands to place native-looking ads within users' feeds. Tencent has successfully blended these ads into the social experience, generating billions in revenue while maintaining high user satisfaction. LINE (Japan & SEA): LINE uses sponsored content, branded stickers, and subtle video ads integrated into chat timelines and stories. This multi-format approach has demonstrated that even personal messaging platforms can deliver effective brand exposure when done tastefully. These examples suggest that careful integration of ads into messaging apps can work, provided that user trust and experience remain paramount. For WhatsApp, Meta's challenge will be striking this balance as it brings advertisers into the Status experience. The Pricing Question: Where Will WhatsApp Ads Fit? From a pricing standpoint, initial industry speculation suggests that WhatsApp Status ads will start as a lower-cost, experimental channel for advertisers. Early adopters may benefit from favorable CPM (Cost Per Mille) and CPC (Cost Per Click) rates while Meta builds out robust measurement capabilities and gathers performance data. We believe that for now, WhatsApp Status ads will function primarily as a top-funnel awareness tool- driving brand recall, reach, and frequency rather than immediate conversions. This could be especially effective in high-penetration markets like India, Indonesia, and Brazil where WhatsApp usage cuts across virtually every demographic. However, as Meta collects more data and optimises delivery, we expect CPMs to gradually rise -potentially nearing parity with Instagram Stories over time, provided engagement levels are strong and advertisers see incremental value. Privacy-First Architecture: Measurement Will Be Meta's Biggest Test One of the key reasons why WhatsApp has enjoyed high user trust is its end-to-end encryption and strong privacy positioning. But this privacy-first architecture inherently limits the depth of behavioural tracking that advertisers are used to on Facebook and Instagram. Meta has hinted at leveraging its broader ecosystem to offer probabilistic attribution models rather than user-level tracking for WhatsApp ads. While these aggregated metrics may be sufficient for brand lift studies, advertisers running lower-funnel performance campaigns may find attribution less granular- at least in the early phase. For example, Meta's recent Advantage+ AI-powered campaign structures, which blend machine learning with aggregate data modeling, may play a critical role in helping advertisers bridge this gap on WhatsApp as well. Full-Funnel Potential: The Road Ahead While initial formats will likely focus on awareness, Meta's long-term roadmap clearly suggests ambitions for full-funnel commerce within WhatsApp. Click-to-WhatsApp Ads: Already, Meta allows Facebook and Instagram ads to drive traffic directly to WhatsApp chats, facilitating conversational commerce. Business Catalogs & In-App Payments: WhatsApp is rolling out catalog listings and secure payment integrations, particularly in markets like India and Brazil. SMB Growth: For small and mid-sized businesses, WhatsApp Business has become a critical customer engagement channel. As these commerce integrations mature, Status ads could evolve from purely awareness-driven formats to become conversation starters, lead generators, and eventually conversion enablers- transforming WhatsApp into a full-funnel marketing channel over the next few years. What Should Brands and Agencies Do Now? For marketers, the introduction of WhatsApp Status ads presents a rare first-mover opportunity. Brands should: 1️. Test early, but tread carefully: Focus on highly relevant, emotionally engaging creative that feels native to the WhatsApp experience. 2️. Prioritize top-funnel KPIs: Evaluate reach, recall, and brand lift rather than expecting immediate conversions. 3️. Monitor evolving targeting capabilities: Stay informed as Meta builds out its measurement tools and optimises delivery algorithms. 4️. Balance scale with relevance: Leverage WhatsApp's massive reach, but avoid broad, irrelevant targeting that risks alienating users in their personal space. Conclusion: An Exciting, But Evolving Opportunity The arrival of WhatsApp Status ads represents both a logical evolution and a delicate experiment for Meta. As an adtech partner committed to helping brands navigate new opportunities, we see this as a highly promising but dynamic surface where early learnings will be critical. With India leading WhatsApp's global usage, Indian advertisers are uniquely positioned to shape the early playbook for Status ads- testing creative approaches, learning from user feedback, and helping Meta fine-tune the delicate balance between monetisation and user trust. If WhatsApp succeeds in building a respectful, engaging ad experience, it could unlock one of the most valuable monetisation frontiers in the global digital landscape- benefiting brands, businesses, and billions of consumers who have made WhatsApp an integral part of their daily lives. ( The author is the Founder and CEO of Globale Media. Views expressed are personal.)
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
WhatsApp Status ads to help brands reach more audiences in smaller cities
WhatsApp Status advertisements are expected to boost brand and advertiser reach, especially in Tier-II and -III markets, with some industry experts anticipating an increase in advertising budget allocation for Meta Platforms. This comes after Meta — the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp — added, for the first time, a feature that allows businesses to run advertisements directly on WhatsApp. In contrast, Instagram and Facebook have long offered advertising features. According to advertising industry experts, brands in sectors such as direct-to-consumer (D2C), fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), microinsurance, education technology (edtech), healthcare, and quick commerce are expected to benefit from WhatsApp Status advertisements. In the near term, Harikrishnan Pillai, chief executive officer and cofounder of TheSmallBigIdea, a creative digital marketing agency, anticipates most brands will allocate 5–10 per cent of their existing Meta budgets towards experimental spending. Saheb Singh, director of strategy at Agency09, an advertising agency, expects budget reallocations from local and regional ad spends, especially by brands or advertisers targeting Tier-II and -III cities. Meanwhile, Uday Mohan, chief operating officer (COO) of Havas Media Network India, said it's less about reallocating budgets across platforms and more about unlocking a highly addressable new segment within the same user base. The messaging app will feature sponsored labels on channels that pay to boost visibility among users, said Sandeep Goyal, chairman of Rediffusion. Status updates have become popular among WhatsApp users, and he explained that the platform is clearly positioning this as a new way to push advertisements to subscribers. 'It's particularly compelling for regional, vernacular, and trust-based categories like D2C, BFSI, and edtech, and early tests show it delivers 20-30 per cent lower cost per mile than Instagram Stories in these clusters,' said Pillai. He also said that WhatsApp Status advertisements offer brands a powerful new surface — especially for reaching users in Tier-II and -III cities, where WhatsApp enjoys over 90 per cent penetration and deep daily engagement. He emphasised that with more than 500 million active users in India and over 80 per cent viewing Status updates daily, the platform provides unmatched access to audiences who are either underexposed or under-engaged on Instagram and Facebook. 'WhatsApp's entry into the advertising ecosystem is a natural evolution, especially considering its scale, daily utility, and stickiness in India,' said Mohan. 'However, this doesn't necessarily mean a shift or cannibalisation of advertising spends from Instagram or Facebook. After all, these platforms — along with WhatsApp — belong to the same Meta ecosystem.' He added, 'This makes it a strategic addition to Meta's overall offering, helping brands reach audiences in a more direct and contextual manner, particularly in Tier-II and -III markets.' On similar lines, Singh agreed with others on the potential exposure in Tier-II and -III cities, and said that WhatsApp Status advertisements create an opportunity to tap into one of the largest and most connected user bases in the country. 'While using other social media is often a choice, being on WhatsApp is almost a compulsion — this fills a massive targeting gap. Also, unlike Instagram or Facebook, WhatsApp users often engage more attentively with content from close contacts. This gives brands a chance to stand out, particularly with hyperlocal campaigns,' he said. At the same time, experts cautioned that brands must tread carefully when advertising on WhatsApp, as it is largely seen as a private digital space used to chat with friends and family. 'User perception is the make-or-break factor here. The biggest asset WhatsApp holds is trust — it's where people talk to family, close friends, and conduct sensitive transactions. If advertising disrupts that sanctity, it could face backlash. Therefore, brands must tread carefully. Consent-led marketing, relevance, and non-intrusiveness must be the pillars. Brand safety and data privacy frameworks need to be clearly communicated by Meta, and we expect that to evolve quickly with advertiser feedback,'
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Meta to boost profits by rolling out advertisements on WhatsApp... less than two years after denying it
WhatsApp's users are threatening to delete the app following the announcement it is introducing advertising. The free messaging app, owned by Mark Zuckerberg 's firm Meta, will roll out ads to all its users 'slowly over the next several months', regardless of what country they're in. However, the plan has gone down badly with people on social media, being described as 'dumb' and the suggestion that it's time to buy an old-school Nokia cell. Comments from furious users included 'dumbest idea ever'; 'time to switch to Telegram'; 'Bye bye Meta, may you loose every Whatsapp user you had in the past and get a very hard negative hit in your revenues.' While another said: 'WhatsApp is bringing ads. Its time to get back to Nokia 3310.' Meta revealed the controversial update in a blog post on its website, but said that advs will not 'interrupt your chats', nor will it be binning end-to-end encryption. For now, the ads will only appear in WhatsApp Status - the feature released in 2017 that lets users share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. But James Bore, tech expert at consultancy Bores Group, thinks it's a matter of time before ads come to the rest of WhatsApp. 'WhatsApp is owned by the same company as Facebook,' he told MailOnline. 'Their history shows that they will cram in ever more prevalent and ever more intrusive ads into every aspect of every platform they can, regardless of how it negatively impacts user experience.' WhatsApp Status is found in 'Updates' tab at the bottom of the app, next to the three other tabs - 'Chats', 'Communities' and 'Calls'. Meta says: 'The growing popularity of the Updates tab makes this the right place for these experiences, in a way that doesn't interrupt your chats. 'If you only use WhatsApp to chat with friends and loved ones, there will be no change to your experience at all.' WhatsApp admitted it will take user information such as their country, city and language, plus how they interact with the ads, to show certain ads that they 'might care about'. But it stressed that it will still not able to read your messages - so it will not be sending you targeted ads based on what you send to friends and family. It will also 'never sell or share your phone number to advertisers'. The company added: 'Nothing changes about people's personal chats, which remain end-to-end encrypted and are not used for ads. 'Your personal messages, calls and groups you are in will not be used to determine the ads you may see.' He jokingly added 'Also it looks like you misspelled Brian's name,' referring to Brian Acton, co-founder of Whatsapp' Meta purchased WhatsApp in 2014 , but it has so far resisted using advertising to tap into new revenue steams. As recently as 2023, WhatsApp denied reports it was even considering the idea. 'False. We aren't doing this,' WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart posted not even two years ago on X in response to a report from the Financial Times.
Mint
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
WhatsApp Status is getting new Instagram like features: Here's everything you need to know
WhatsApp has added new elements to its Status feature in a bid to make it more interactive. Most of the new features aren't entirely new features and have been taken directly from Instagram like the ability to add image layouts or Add Yours sticker. In a blogpost about the new features, Meta noted, 'Whether you're sharing the everyday moments that make up your life or a big occasion, we hope these new features give you even more ways to bring those closest to you along and up to date on what's happening.' WhatsApp now allows users to add up to 6 images in a collage by making use of the new editing tool on the app and arranging them in a manner that bests suits them. WhatsApp recently added the ability to add music on WhatsApp Status similar to how users have been availing the feature on Instagram. Now, the company is allosing users to share a status focused entirely on a particular song while also adding the ability to share music sticker for sharing a song that matches their vibe. The personal messaging app is also adding the ability to add photos as stickers on Status. Users have the option to edit these pictures to the exact size and shape of their choosing before putting them on Status. Remember those 'Add Yours' stickers on Instagram where people share a message and invite others to join the conversation? That same feature is now rolling out on WhatsApp, and it's bound to make the app feel a lot more public. WhatsApp says all of these features will start rolling out soon and will 'gradually' be available to all users in the coming months. In any case, it might be a good idea to keep your WhatsApp updated to the latest version in order to receive the latest feature soon.
