Kiip

Kiip was a mobile advertising network built around what the company called moment-based or moments marketing: rather than serving interstitial or banner ads, its software delivered brand-sponsored rewards to mobile users at points of achievement or completion inside apps, such as finishing a game level, hitting a step or running goal, or completing a task in a productivity app. App developers integrated an SDK and defined the moments at which a reward could be presented; brands supplied coupons and product offers targeted by location, demographics or in-app behaviour, and the platform provided campaign analytics.

The platform spanned mobile games, fitness apps such as RunKeeper, and productivity apps including Any.do and Finish 2.0, and was also integrated into the Yahoo! Japan app — described as the first third-party service Yahoo! Japan had integrated into its app. Developer tooling was offered under the name Kiip Neon. In October 2017 the rewards platform was extended to Amazon's Fire TV. The company positioned the model as a three-sided benefit: developers monetised and retained users, brands reached consumers in a receptive moment, and users received tangible rewards.

Kiip ceased operating in 2019. It agreed in July 2019 to a $1 million settlement of a class action alleging it collected and used personal information without permission, admitting no wrongdoing; it entered foreclosure in August 2019 and its assets were acquired by NinthDecimal in bankruptcy court.

Founding story

Co-founder Brian Wong, then 19, conceived the idea on an airplane while watching fellow passengers use iPads: many were playing games in which advertisements occupied screen space without adding value. Reasoning that games represent moments of achievement, he proposed leveraging events such as level-ups and high scores for a rewards program through which brands could make offers to engaged consumers. In July 2010 Wong, a University of British Columbia graduate who had previously founded FollowFormation and worked in business development at Digg, teamed with former Digg colleague Courtney Guertin and their mutual friend Amadeus Demarzi to found Kiip. Wong's initial financing made him one of the youngest entrepreneurs to raise venture capital.

Business model

Kiip operated a two-sided advertising network: brands paid to place rewards and offers that were delivered inside partner mobile apps at defined achievement moments, while app developers who embedded the Kiip SDK earned revenue from those placements and used the rewards to improve retention and engagement.

Revenue came from brand advertisers buying moment-based reward placements distributed across the network of integrated apps, with participating developers monetising their user achievements.

Traction

By 2013 the company said Kiip reached about 75 million users per month across roughly 400 apps. In 2012 more than 400 US apps gave out an average of five rewards per second, with initial engagement of 18-22% rising to 50% among users who had previously redeemed a reward. By July 2016 the platform was embedded in 5,000 mobile apps and delivered two to three million rewards per day, with an active engagement rate of 19% versus a 12% average; revenue had doubled in the prior year and the company was described as near break-even. As of 2017 Kiip was sending rewards to 100 million consumers per month and was reported to be on track for more than $20 million in revenue in 2017.

Latest developments

Following a $1 million class action settlement in July 2019 over collection and use of personal information, Kiip entered foreclosure on August 26, 2019 and terminated most staff; Diablo Management Group ran the closure and liquidation from September 15, 2019 and NinthDecimal acquired the assets through bankruptcy court, with further details emerging in The Meet Group v. Kiip litigation in San Francisco.