Advertising has been the way that many services have found to increase their revenue and keep their users close. After several years of denying entry to this field, Discord will soon start showing advertising to users.
Discord will start showing advertising
Since it was launched in 2015, Discord has sought to be one of the few platforms that avoids advertising. This position has been strong to the point that its CEO Jason Citron, in 2021, revealed that it was too intrusive and, instead, focused the company's efforts on creating products that users wanted to buy. That moment appears to have now ended.
From what the Wall Street Journal now reports, Discord will start showing advertising in its app next week. This decision abandons the platform's long-standing stance against the use of paid ads and promotions. The move is part of the company's plan to increase revenue related to Nitro games and subscriptions. However, as described, the promotions do not seem intrusive.
Discord plans to have paid promotions called “Sponsored Missions”. The platform will present them in cooperation with game creators. Sponsored Quests will offer in-game or on-platform gifts for completing various challenges while playing with your friends and Discord viewers. Once completed, these viewers can go on similar missions to earn rewards.
Ads associated with user games
Despite the seemingly benign nature of the campaign, initial responses to the advertising were not favorable. Analysts fear that adopting the new advertising model could alienate part of Discord's user base. The company's rapid shift from its commitment to an ad-free service to one that utilizes paid promotions could negatively impact trust levels.
Discord stated that users can disable promotions in Settings. This solution sets them apart from what most other platforms offer to users. However, it is not yet known whether this ability will be open to everyone or limited to Nitro subscribers.
Sources close to Discord say the company wants to hire 12 members of its sales team to support the new advertising model. While this may seem like great news for those looking to enter the gaming and social platform sectors, the news comes after the company laid off 17% of its staff earlier this year.
