Facebook's David Marcus Knows Why People Prefer the Messenger App
The way companies communicate with their customers is changing drastically, and Facebook’s head of Messenger says his company’s app creates a space for them to have a better dialogue.
David Marcus joined Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg from the WPP Stream conference in Ojai, California Friday. He points out that no one ever seems to call companies anymore. Not only is the process tedious, he says, but it’s not the way clients prefer to communicate. Marcus thinks Messenger is a more viable and effective option than even traditional texting.
This push for consumers and companies to communicate via Messenger, which was created in 2011, comes at a time where communication apps are on the rise. Data research firm Statista projects that by 2019 2.19 billion people will be using mobile phone messaging.
Marcus said in September that Facebook Messenger had 1.3 billion active users every month. The company’s other product, WhatsApp, has over 1 billion daily users on the platform. According to Statista, WhatsApp is the most popular option worldwide, and Messenger ranks #3.
Marcus argued that the number of people choosing to communicate via Messenger continues to increase. “As a result [the app] becomes a great platform for businesses as well,” he said.
He points to a survey Facebook conducted found that over 64 percent of people across demographics would prefer to communicate with a brand via a platform like Messenger. But there is a generational difference. A study by Goldman Sachs found that 34 percent of millennials like a brand more when it uses social media, but that number drops to 16 percent in individuals over 36.
Facebook has sought to monetize Messenger through advertising.
“We have ‘Click to Messenger’ ads … you can buy ads that direct people to opening more conversations with your brands inside of Messenger.”
Integrating a system where brands and consumers can increase communication is reminiscent of Facebook’s active advertisement strategy. The tech behemoth one of the two dominant players in the advertising industry -- the other being Google. It rules display advertising with a projected market share of 39 percent this year and revenues at $16.33 billion, according to eMarketer.
The billionaire space race took off in 2021, making major strides in space tourism. That growth is only expected to skyrocket in the next year, as the government and private institutions and companies look to shape the final frontier's exploration. Cheddar News dives into the biggest moments of the year in space, and what comes next for space travel and tourism.
While other CEOs of Southwest and American Airlines questioned current mask mandates in front of Congress, Delta CFO Dan Janki in his exclusive interview with Cheddar, was more cautious about doing away with the safety measure. "We're right now at the beginning of another wave," he said. "This is probably not the time to change mask policy." Janki also discussed his airline's future in loyalty program pricing, international travel, meal services, and stock pricing.
E-commerce data platform Rokt is prepping for an IPO as it comes off of a $325 million Series E fundraise, and CEO Bruce Buchanan joined Cheddar to discuss the future of his company. He explained how Rokt uses data science to optimize the consumer experience with their clients and discussed the goal to go public in 2023. "We're at a size and scale now where it's important we can give liquidity to investors, we can use the public markets to attract more talent, and we can use the public markets also to go on and acquire more businesses," he said. "We think it's about time that we do list."
Rideshare company Lyft is following its competitor Uber into the food delivery market by partnering with Olo, the on-demand commerce platform, and its dispatch network. Joining Cheddar to discuss the team-up, Olo founder and CEO Noah Glass. "Consumers will be able to place orders through the same apps and websites they go to … and see delivery as an option," he said. "And Lyft is now one of the providers who may be picking up the order on behalf of the consumer and taking it from the restaurant to the consumer." Glass also stated that Olo optimizes deliveries without adding the burden of additional fees on the restaurant side.
Chloe and Halle Bailey are no strangers to hard work. The sisters got their start performing covers on YouTube and have become a force in the music industry. Since then, the two have spread their wings beyond their duo group to individual projects. Now they're coming together to face off in the LG OLED Ultimate Gaming Showdown. Chloe and Halle join Cheddar News to discuss.
Cheddar is looking back at the 12 biggest buzzwords of the year leading up to Christmas. Day 8's term is Supply Chain. Definition: (noun) a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in supplying a product or service to a consumer.
Software giants Adobe and Microsoft are further partnering to build synergy between their productivity tools for the digital-first workplace. Ashley Still, the senior vice president and general manager of digital media at Adobe, talked to Cheddar about the common vision between her company and Microsoft for simplifying work. "It's really important that companies make sure that the tools and applications that employees have at their disposal make their work delightful and easier," Still said in terms of how to judge the success of the partnership.
