Q&A with Kiip CEO Brian Wong

Brian Wong | BCBusiness

The Art of Marketing conference, which comes to the Centre in Vancouver on March 19, features six high-profile speakers talking about some of today’s most critical marketing issues. As a preview of the event, BCBusiness caught up with one of those speakers, Brian Wong, founder and CEO of Kiip, to talk about the future of marketing and the importance of mobile

How do you maintain or establish your brand’s authenticity? And how do you know where you’re losing it?

Zealous customers communicate brand authenticity better than the best of marketing campaigns. In the case of the Kiip brand, we are fortunate enough to have had awesome users who helped establish our brand’s authenticity. We receive tons of social media mentions from people talking about how awesome Kiip is and thanking us and the brand for the reward they received every day. You’ll never hear people say I love AdMob or I love Millennial, but they will say I love Kiip, and that unsolicited love has really given us a leg up in the space.


 
When a business is trying to tell or craft its story, what’s the worst mistake they can make?

Don’t be afraid to branch out into new waters instead of latching onto already established trends. When we started Kiip, there was no market for mobile rewards, so we had to create it. It’s an uphill climb to be unique and stand out, but in the end it helps differentiate your business from the competition.


 
We went from the age of SEO to the age of social in the blink of an eye. How can businesses keep their marketing strategies up to date while keeping to a budget?

I may be biased, but I think mobile is still such an underutilized and cost-effective marketing channel. Mobile opens an incredibly powerful medium to reach users throughout their day. There’s no better way to stay “up to date” than to reach users on the device that is so closely connected to their lives.


How can a business leverage its employees to promote its brand?
Start by only hiring passionate employees. If your employees are excited to come to work every day and build something great, that excitement will be communicated naturally. Our Kiip family of employees, affectionately known as “Kiipers,” are all brand ambassadors for our mission to reward the world for their mobile achievements.
 

The Art of Marketing will be held March 19 and the Vancouver Convention Centre. BCBusiness is offering its readers a discount on tickets here.