Beijing's transport commission unveiled its WeChat account to reach more people who seek the group's services. (Photo : Reuters)
Tencent's online messaging app WeChat, which currently has about 468 million users, kicks off an advertising platform on Sunday with three major advertisers.
Coca-Cola Co., BMW China and Vivo's advertisements debuted in WeChat's Moments timeline. WeChat is a social networking app developed by Shenzhen's Internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd.
The advertisements were patterned after Facebook's News Feed and users can opt out of the commercials if they choose not to see them.
The company stated that they used a different technology for the ads and different users can see different ads, depending on their demographic data.
The advertising app is a major monetizing step for WeChat. Launched in 2011, WeChat has established itself as a gateway bridging its users with other third-party apps, such as online shopping and services. However, the app did not make enough money until now with the debut of its advertising program.
In order to construct an active synergy between users and advertisers, WeChat said that users must find the ads informative rather than intrusive. Therefore, only one ad per user, and of course, depending on the demographics. However, WeChat did not disclose the algorithms used for the platform.
WeChat's big database of users has attracted a lot of advertisers. Although it is too early to predict, the company admitted that if not handled right, the ads program might destroy WeChat's ecosystem.
BMW-China, one of the first major advertisers, said that data marketing has surfaced as a new rule, citing its advantages in social networking and user demographics.
The company stated that their first attempt to advertise on WeChat garnered 7 million comments in the first 17 hours since it was posted online around 8:45 p.m. on Jan. 25, Sunday.
The company also said that they got 200,000 new fans, and because of that, they consider the venture a huge success.
