INMA highlights rise of chat bots as the next media distribution platform

Is chat messaging The next big thing for member companies to engage elusive audiences in a more intimate environment? At least seven major media companies profiled in a new INMA report say an emphatic: “Yes!” 

‘Chat Apps and Bots: The Next Media Distribution Platform’ looks at the global chat messaging phenomenon and how the early media adopters are creating new rules and new best practices for the rest of the industry to follow. 

Chat messaging and where news media companies intersect to grow quality audiences and attract younger readers is of growing importance. Global trends point to skyrocketing usage, and media companies are experimenting with text-based chat bots and voice-based chat assistants. 

Key Highlights 

  • Global data points to exponential growth in chat messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat.
  • Chat messaging unveils the new practice of targeting micro-groups to offer a private and safe place for intimate conversations.
  • Experiments with text-based chat bots and voice-based chat assistants, powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
  • The rise of chat assistants on new AI devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home and where media companies like the Washington Post come into play at this ‘infant stage’.
  • The emergence of a chat messenger strategy by media companies aiming to grow audience and engagement – especially one-on-one relationships.
  • Media companies that are early adopters of chat messaging include Hessische/ Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA), Metro Belgium, The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Clarín, and BBC World Service.

Earl J. Wilkinson, Executive Director and CEO, INMA, commented, “The explosive growth of messaging apps – WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat – is changing the rules for how people converse with each other. Chat bots and chat assistants are morphing the information ecosystem in unpredictable ways.”

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