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And it\u2019s about time.<\/p>\n
Giphy<\/a>, the four-year-old search engine for GIFs, is going to finally start testing monetization.<\/p>\n According to a source close to the company, Giphy will begin testing sponsored GIFs within messaging experiences. This means that users who search for GIFs may be served a sponsored GIF within the messaging tab.<\/p>\n There are some obvious use-cases here: A search for \u201cMonday\u201d or \u201cmorning\u201d might turn up a Starbucks GIF. But there is also an opportunity for brands, especially movies and TV shows (which makes up a huge portion of Giphy\u2019s content), to work their existing content into people\u2019s messages.<\/p>\n Structurally, this isn\u2019t too different from what Google does with search terms. If you search for \u201cWalmart,\u201d you\u2019ll more than likely see a sponsored listing for both Walmart and Target.<\/p>\n With Giphy, however, searches are rarely for specific brands but rather based around certain actions, reactions or emotions. With the forthcoming sponsored messaging product, a search for \u201cWooo\u201d might turn up a GIF of someone pouring Jose Cuervo shots. A search for \u201ccheers\u201d might show folks clinking two Budweiser beer bottles together. (If Netflix doesn\u2019t buy ads against \u201cchill,\u201d I\u2019ll be really disappointed.)<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, sponsored content on Giphy would function in a way similar to Snapchat\u2019s sponsored face filters. Even if it includes branded content, the fact that it comes from a friend makes it worth watching and makes it easier to connect with.<\/p>\n The same source also said that Giphy is now seeing 200 million daily<\/em> active users between both the API and website, with around 250 million monthly active users on the website, as well as Giphy\u2019s owned and operated integrations. That means the majority of Giphy\u2019s users are interacting with the service every single day.<\/p>\n Neither my source, nor Giphy, would confirm a timeline for the launch of ad products. That said, Giphy COO Adam Leibsohn did confirm that the company has shifted focus from growth to building ad products, without adding much detail on what those products might look like.<\/p>\n \u201cWith GIPHY Studios, we\u2019ve been executing on creative partnerships for over a year,\u201d said Leibsohn. \u201cThat work helps inform our thinking and exploration around what our ad products will look like.\u201d<\/p>\n I also asked Leibsohn which brands would be the first to test out Giphy\u2019s ad products.<\/p>\n \u201cWe already work closely with the world\u2019s leading brands in content, entertainment, technology and advertising,\u201d said Leibsohn. \u201cWhen we\u2019re ready to launch our ad products, it naturally follows that we\u2019ll be working with our existing partners.\u201d<\/p>\n As far as testing is concerned, it\u2019s unclear which platform Giphy will wade into first. Nor is it clear what sort of a business model sponsored content would take when served on a third-party platform, outside of Giphy\u2019s own site and app.<\/p>\n Slack, iMessage, Facebook Messenger and Twitter are all huge platforms for Giphy, but they may be a little too<\/em> big to do initial testing. Remember, Giphy is the same company that launches standalone app after standalone app simply to learn what will and won\u2019t work with its users.<\/p>\n Strategically, the best place for Giphy to start testing sponsored content would be Tinder, in my opinion. Tinder has an integration with Giphy that gets a lot of play \u2014 in fact, one of the top 25 most popular Giphy GIFs from last year<\/a> climbed the charts courtesy of Tinder users.<\/p>\n And while Tinder and Giphy are a match made in (user engagement) heaven, it\u2019s not as high-stakes as debuting an ad product on a public platform like Twitter, nor is it as tricky or unpredictable as the mostly professional environment of Slack.<\/p>\n Tinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Giphy has a lot<\/em> of options when it comes to generating revenue. Alongside selling sponsored content within messaging, the company also sees a ton of traffic to the Giphy website. In fact, Giphy says that more than 50 percent<\/a> of the people who come to the company\u2019s website are coming with the intent to browse.<\/p>\n This opens up the opportunity to sell native ads, via search terms, on the website, too.<\/p>\n Plus, Giphy currently works to \u2018live-gif\u2019 big events like the Oscars, Golden Globes, etc. For now, Giphy\u2019s team does this for free, but you can see how they might eventually start inking licensing deals around these events. And that doesn\u2019t even include the troves of old content \u2014 think \u201cFull House\u201d and \u201cSeinfeld\u201d \u2014 that Giphy turns into GIFs for big broadcast and cable networks.<\/p>\n While many believe that P2P native content will be a huge part of the future of advertising, it hasn\u2019t become immediately clear what a successful version of that will actually look like<\/a>. But, in a relatively short time, Giphy has become an ingrained part of the way we communicate, whether it\u2019s in iMessage, on Twitter, Tinder or Slack.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/8e93a_giphy-31.gif?resize=410%2C220&ssl=1\")
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