Kiip
 | |
| Available in | English |
|---|---|
| Owner | Brian Wong |
| URL | Kiip.me |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Current status | Active |
 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (January 2016) |
Kiip is a mobile advertising network.[1][2][3][4] It was co-founded by Brian Wong, Courtney Guertin, and Amadeus Demarzi in 2010.
History
Wong developed the idea for Kiip on an airplane, when he observed its passengers on their iPads.[5][6] Many passengers were playing games, where the games' advertisements took up screen space that couldn't be used by the game itself.[5] Wong hypothesized that instead, games could leverage moments of achievement—such as level ups and high scores—with a rewards program where advertisers could make consumer offers.[7][8][9]
In July 2010, Wong teamed with Courtney Guertin and Amadeus Demarzi to found the company,[10] Kiip raised $300,000 in seed capital from True Ventures, Vast Ventures, Paige Craig, Rohan Oza, Keith Belling, Joe Stump, and Chris Redlitz.[11] In subsequent A and B rounds, Kiip has raised a total of $15.4 million from investors including Relay Ventures, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Interpublic Group, American Express Ventures, Digital Garage, Crosslink Capital, True Ventures, Venture51, Transmedia Capital, and Verizon Ventures.[1][12][13][14]
Kiip is currently active on more than 1,100 apps played on 75[15] million devices, sends out reward notices for over 500 million moments monthly, and gives out 11 rewards per second.[16][17] The company has offices in San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Vancouver,[18] London, Bogota and Tokyo.[1][19][20]
Kiip is increasingly expanding beyond mobile games into mobile fitness apps like MapMyRun, Nexercise, LoloFit, Gym-Pact and others.[21] In August 2014, Kiip announced a partnership with RunKeeper to reward users' workouts with fitness-based, healthy rewards and sponsored song downloads.[22] The company has also integrated with productivity apps, including Any.do[23] and Finish 2.0.[24] Kiip is also integrated with the Yahoo! Japan app, the first time Yahoo! Japan has integrated a third-party service into its app.[25]
The company has established strategic partnerships with more than 115 major brands, including 7-Eleven, Amazon, American Apparel, Campbell’s, Ford, Hasbro, Macy’s, McDonald’s, Mondelēz International (formerly Kraft Foods), Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Sony Music, Unilever, Verizon and Wrigley.[26]
For two years running, Kiip has held the Build Fund, a contest for independent developers to receive $10,000 in cash and $5,000 in services from sponsors.[27] Kiip received over 300 applications for the contest in 2013.[28]
Description
The company's platform integrates real-world rewards to mobile users on both iOS and Android.[1] Instead of digital rewards, Kiip provides consumers with tangible rewards from premium brands and companies. As an example, a free bottle of Propel Fitness Water is offered by Pepsi inside the Nexercise and Sworkit apps for every eight miles run by a user.[2]
The 'Achievement Moment'
Kiip’s rewards platforms is designed for in-game engagement, and allows brands and companies to reward a mobile gamer at the "achievement moment."[29][30] Wong states that Kiip "baked into our model the ability for a brand to reciprocate in these 'moments' so that a consumer feels appreciated in that instance where they’ve actively accomplished something. Whether it be the 10-mile run they just tracked on Nexercise, or the 1-million-point high score they hit—the brand can participate in that 'moment' while enabling someone to choose to engage with them if they wish, but with a reward."[2]
Kiip has been listed by Fast Company as one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the world in 2013[31] and by Forbes as one of the 4 Hot Online Ad Companies to Put on Your Watch List.[32] Kiip was also named to the Dow Jones' FasTech50 List[33]
References
- ^ a b c d Edwards, Jim. This 21-year-old May Have Cracked the Future of Mobile Advertising. BusinessInsider. May 21, 2012.
- ^ a b c Holiday, Ryan. Online Advertisings Greatest Missed Opportunity? Kiip.Me Founder Brian Wong Answers. Forbes. April 25, 2012.
- ^ Tsotsis, Alexia (March 9, 2012). "Kiip: A Win-Win for App Developers and Advertisers". Entrepreneur.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Burnett, Rob. A Rush of Dopamine in the Head: Kiip Raises $11M to Monetize Achievements. Pando Daily. July 26, 2012.
- ^ a b Tsotsi, Alexia. Kiip’s Brian Wong On Taking Risks As Young Entrepreneur. TechCrunch. April 12, 2011.
- ^ Newman, Kira. Brian Wong to Young Entrepreneurs: “Assume no one gives a shit about you”. Tech Cocktail. April 18, 2012.
- ^ Kim, Ryan. Kiip Pushes Real Rewards, Not Ads on Mobile Gamers. GigaOM. April 11, 2011.
- ^ Building the World’s First Mobile Rewards Network: Brian Wong, 20-Year-Old Founder of Kiip. Sramana Mitra. April 5, 2012.
- ^ Rose, Kevin. Foundation 05 // Brian Wong. Foundation. April 2011.
- ^ Tsotsis, Alexia. 19 Year Old Kiip Founder Closes 300K Angel Round For Mobile In-Game Ad Startup. Tech Crunch’. October 27, 2010.
- ^ McMahan, Ty. Betting Venture Capital On An Unproven 19-Year-Old. Wall Street Journal. August 6, 2010.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Xconomywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Thomas, Owen. Kiip Raises $11 Million To Erase Advertisers' Frowns. Business Insider. July 17, 2012.
- ^ Ha, Anthony. Couldn't make the 30 million-plus changeMobile Rewards Network Kiip Raises $11M Led By Relay Ventures, Plans Its Own ‘Kiipsake’ App. TechCrunch. July 17, 2012.
- ^ Russell, Jon. Kiip strikes it big in Japan after partnering with top media company Yahoo Japan. The Next Web. July 23, 2013.
- ^ Shaw, Gillian. UBC grad raises $11M to expand mobile rewards company Kiip. Vancouver Sun. July 18, 2012.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid. Kiip, The Mobile Ad Rewards Network, Rumored To Raise Another $8-10M To Conquer Games And Beyond. TechCrunch’. June 21, 2012.
- ^ Shaw, Gillian. Kiip hiring for Vancouver office: Kiip co-founder and UBC grad Brian Wong sees tech talent in his hometown. Vancouver Sun. July 24, 2013.
- ^ Grant, Rebecca. Kiip raises $11M to reward users for everyday life. VentureBeat. July 17, 2012.
- ^ Ryan, Tim. Brands Rewards Your Fitness Achievements With Useful Products. PSFK. April 14, 2012.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean. Kiip expands beyond games to rewarding fitness “moments”. Venture Beat. March 22, 2012.
- ^ Shaul, Brandy (August 20, 2014). "RunKeeper Partners with Kiip for Rewarded Workouts". Inside Mobile Apps.
- ^ Olanoff, Drew. Any.DO Integrates Kiip’s Reward System To Make Completing To-Do Lists A Daily, And Fun, Habit. TechCrunch. May 26, 2013.
- ^ Crook, Jordan. Finish 2.0 Aims To Help Students Buckle Down And Stop Procrastinating. TechCrunch. August 15, 2013.
- ^ Ha, Anthony. Kiip Will Power Rewards In Yahoo Japan’s Mobile Apps. TechCrunch. July 22, 2013.
- ^ Ong, Josh. Rewards platform Kiip passes 1,000 connected apps as it opens up a self-service option for brands. The Next Web. June 13, 2013.
- ^ Ha, Anthony. Mobile Rewards Startup Kiip Launches Its Second $100K ‘Build Fund’ With Sponsorship From Pepsi. TechCrunch. March 21, 2013.
- ^ Ha, Anthony. Mobile rewards startup Kiip announces winners of $100,000 2013 Build Fund. The Next Web. August 8, 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
TechCrunchwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Valentino-Devries, Jennifer New Approach to Ads in Games. Wall Street Journal. June 24, 2011.
- ^ Harrison, Lindsay. Most Innovative Companies 2013. Fast Company”. February 11, 2013.
- ^ Taulli, Tom. 4 Hot Online Ad Companies to Put on Your Watch List. Forbes. April 14, 2011.
- ^ "Dow Jones' Fast Tech 50 List". Fast Tech. Retrieved 29 June 2012.