Digital Marketing is a complex field, filled to the brim with ever-changing trends and new developments. The right strategy and campaign are critical to the long-term success of a product. Houseparty, a video-conferencing app that gained a significant market share during the pandemic, will be completely shut down by October. Today, the experts at Wildfire Marketing are giving you a deep dive into Houseparty’s digital marketing from our perspective. Learn why Houseparty failed and the steps you can learn to ensure your Digital Marketing doesn’t encounter the same mistakes!
What is Houseparty?
During the pandemic, the popularity of video conferencing apps exploded. After all, they essentially became a necessity for work, education and socialisation. We’ve all seen the rise of Zoom in the corporate world, but Houseparty had a different approach. Founded in 2016, Houseparty focussed on the socialising aspect of video conferencing. Their application offered fun features powered by collaborations with independent artists and more, such as call backgrounds and fun games such as UNO.
Why was it Successful?
Houseparty filled a niche in the market many overlooked and marketed to the demographic most suited for that niche excellently. A more light-hearted, less professional Video Conferencing app for the teen to young adult market may not have been popular in 2016. Still, the pandemic was a situation Houseparty knew how to capitalise upon. You only need to look at their social media around their peak popularity to see how well they knew their target audience and the niche they filled.
Another critical aspect to Houseparty’s marketing success was its utilisation of collaboration. Following Houseparty’s purchase by Epic Games, Houseparty was heavily integrated into the popular game Fortnite. This integration included a new feature known as ‘Fortnite Mode’, which allowed users to utilise Houseparty directly in the game to video chat with friends as they played. Of course, this brought significant attention in and of itself:
but their true key to marketing success was influencers. They heavily utilised influencers for announcements and collaborations. They worked closely with famous brands and artists to provide games and backgrounds and heavily used the massively popular Fortnite community to appeal to their younger demographic:
Why did their Marketing Fail?
This tweet sums it up the best.
Houseparty did an incredible job of capitalising on the latest trends and famous influencers. Still, their lack of core identity beyond that left them faltering as the winds changed. Houseparty became known as the ‘lockdown’ video chat app. As younger people moved outdoors once more, their support for Houseparty went with them. After all, what is the point in an iPhone-exclusive dedicated chat app when you can hop on Instagram for that quick call to your mate?
A quick look at their website highlights this issue. The design is sleek, but nothing truly stands out. Their brand is built based on ‘face to face’ connection. When true face to face returned, Houseparty was left without a leg to stand on. Of course, this was not the end of the business. They live on under the Epic Games umbrella, but their social accounts and application now lay dormant.
The Lesson to Learn
Influencer Marketing and Viral trends are a perfect track to Social Media Marketing success. But all trends end, and younger audiences get bored quickly. So make sure the trends your product and marketing follow supplement a core idea that people will be eager to return to.
If you want to avoid the same pitfalls as Houseparty, trust the experts to ignite your Digital Marketing. Wildfire Marketing is the number one SEO Agency in Leeds, home to a strong team of social media marketers and web developers who know how to make your brand last. Learn more about our services and Digital Marketing as a whole with more of our in-depth blogs, or contact us today.