The Genies app is a growing enterprise accumulating funding and confidence as its influence spreads across different apps. While the tech giants are ponderously putting their own digital avatar efforts into play, to compete with market leader SnapChat-owned Bitmoji, Genies has been attracting a lot of attention with a series of high-profile campaigns and partnerships involving household name brands and personalities. Millions of users have taken advantage of Genies to create digital clones of themselves, with over a million clothing and facial options on offer.
Why Genies’ Avatars Are Taking Off
Genies’ initial strategy was a misstep: the Genies avatars were simply responding to weekly news stories and seasonal events. The app pivoted to creating multiple reactions for users to employ in social media conversations on Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Snapchat, and other App Store staples. The company has gone from strength to strength since this change in strategy. By reaching out to celebrities such as Carmelo Anthony, A$AP Rocky, Rihanna, and Shawn Mendes, and making them custom personal avatars, Genies was able to create and manage a talent pool of digital likenesses: an Avatar Agency for companies to approach about incorporating into their marketing campaigns. The personalities make money for including their avatars in sponsored posts, the companies get the cachet of a celebrity endorsement, and Genies gets a cut of the money. Another positive result is that Genies also receive interest from many more potential users, fans who see their favorite celebrities with some of the most dynamic avatars on the market and want to create a Genie of their own.
The Future of Genies
Two other new angles of the Genies strategy are the partnerships with big brands such as Gucci and Bird, and the creation of the Genies SDK. For a licensing fee, other companies can incorporate Genies assets into their own apps, for use as stickers, chat, games, animations, or even augmented reality. Meanwhile, brands such as Gucci can benefit from having their own assets (attire and accessories) incorporated into the personalization options available. With these revenue streams being introduced by CEO Akash Nigam and co-founder Evan Rosenbaum, it seems that the $15 million in startup capital that was invested will be paying off in abundance before long.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author.
