Korea Daily Online Survey
KakaoTalk, the popular messaging app widely used among Korean Americans, recently introduced banner ads at the top of its chat window. However, a majority of users say the ads are intrusive and disruptive.
The ads, sold to local advertisers by region, link directly to a sponsor’s website or product page when clicked. Yet most users report that they find them bothersome rather than useful.
According to an online survey conducted by the Korea Daily (www.koreadaily.com) from August 6 to 10, with 640 respondents across the U.S., nearly half of users (48.2%) said they had “never clicked” on the banner ads, while 47.7% said they had only clicked on them “by mistake.” Just 4.1% said they clicked on an ad out of genuine interest.
Although the ads take up roughly 15% of the chat screen, they appear to have failed to capture users’ attention.
When asked their opinion of the ad placement itself, 90.3% of respondents said it was “distracting or disruptive” to using the app. Another 8.5% said they were “not particularly interested,” also reflecting a largely negative perception.
Launched in 2010, KakaoTalk currently has about 55 million installs worldwide. In the United States, users make up 0.92% of the total, or around 500,000 people.
By In Seong Choi
Graphics by Nak-Hee Park
