Kakao "Brand Message" Earns Higher Trust Than SMS

Survey of 400 Adults Aged 20 to 50
Outperforms SMS in Security, Trust, and Usefulness

Research has found that Kakao's newly launched business messaging product, "Brand Message," delivers greater advertising effectiveness compared to standard text messages (SMS).

On August 20, Kakao announced these research findings through an official post on its Brunch Story platform, stating, "Kakao's Brand Message is part of our efforts to create a user-centric advertising message environment."

Kakao's brand message (left) and text message (SMS) example.

In June, Kakao introduced Brand Message as a new enterprise messaging service. If consumers have previously consented to receive messages, they can get them without adding a new channel. Typically, SMS supports multimedia content such as images or videos only in a limited way due to differences in communication protocols and devices. In contrast, Kakao Brand Message allows the delivery of messages in various formats, including images, videos, and coupons.

Brand Message also offers advantages over SMS in that recipients can clearly identify the sender and easily set up message blocking. Consumers can check the sender's information and contact details at the top of the message profile. They can freely block the channel or use the 080 opt-out feature to refuse messages.

Kakao explained that "by transparently disclosing the sender and giving users control over message reception, Brand Message can potentially earn greater trust than traditional text-based ads, where the sender is often unclear."

The research released by Kakao was conducted by Professor Um Namhyun of Hongik University's Department of Advertising and Public Relations and Professor Yoo Seungchul of Ewha Womans University's Department of Communication and Media. They analyzed consumer trust and other factors for both Kakao Brand Message and SMS advertising. Kakao commissioned the Korean Society for Advertising Studies to conduct a comparative analysis of consumer trust, acceptance, and marketing effectiveness between Brand Message and SMS.

The survey, conducted from July 18 to 25, included 400 adults in their 20s to 50s living in Korea who regularly use smartphones, have used KakaoTalk for over a year, and have received SMS marketing messages within the past six months.

For the survey, respondents were shown KakaoTalk Brand Message and SMS ads from a fictional brand and asked to assess the messages' credibility, security, and controllability. The results showed that Kakao Brand Message scored higher than SMS in all categories.

Specifically, Kakao Brand Message received scores of 4.46 for credibility, 3.97 for security, and 4.58 for controllability. In comparison, SMS ads scored 3.72 for credibility, 3.34 for security, and 4.12 for controllability. A Kakao representative commented, "The high scores are due to the sender profile displayed at the top of the message and the structure that allows users to manage message reception."

For perceived usefulness, Kakao Brand Message scored 4.21, while SMS scored 3.66. For perceived risk, Kakao scored 4.22 and SMS 4.45. The researchers explained, "Kakao Brand Message was positively evaluated for the usefulness of information compared to SMS ads and was effective in reducing concerns about spam or fraud risks."

When measuring negative emotions (annoyance) caused by the ads, Kakao Brand Message scored 3.43, while SMS scored 3.74. The researchers concluded that Brand Message causes less psychological discomfort for recipients compared to SMS, thereby reducing the intention to avoid ads.

A Kakao representative stated regarding the research results, "This shows that Brand Message can establish itself as a trustworthy advertising platform rather than a spam channel. Advertisers can expect higher effectiveness for the same cost, and consumers can experience informational messages instead of spam."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.