United Kingdom: BeReal leads the way in advertising

RealPeople is being trialled in the UK by BeReal, a new celebrity-focused feature that could pave the way for an ad-based business model.

Launched in 2020, BeReal invites users, at random times of the day, to take a photo with their normal smartphone camera to capture their surroundings, and another to take a photo with their selfie camera to reveal their face. Photos are accessible in the user’s friends list, but only users who post their own photos can see others (which encourages people to use BeReal every day).

The company said the new RealPeople feature doesn’t conflict with the app’s purpose, which is to provide a more authentic social media experience. However, the new feature is a way to increase the number of users of the platform. It will stand out from other emerging social networks by increasing its size and, therefore, will be attractive to advertisers.

So far, BeReal has been financially backed by investors, with two funding rounds totaling $90 million. But in an environment of rising interest rates, investors have less appetite for speculative investments. Without presenting a strong business case, it is uncertain whether the app will be able to get more funding.

(An analysis Jack Benjamin Must read Head of Media UK)