How ScoopWhoop is making traditional media houses run for their audiences and money

If people want to know what’s trending across young India, they should just check out the ScoopWhoop Instagram page, say Sattvik Mishra and Rishi Pratim Mukherjee, founders of the six-year-old youth-centric platform.

In the last few years, ScoopWhoop has cemented its place as India’s first viral content platform. As the founders claim, ‘if it’s on ScoopWhoop, it’s trending’.

And brands have never been late in riding on the platform. Most big brands, across categories have been collaborating with ScoopWhoop for branded content in both videos and article categories. And if you were to compare the number of branded articles that ScoopWhoop does, it would outnumber several traditional print and TV groups.

ScoopWhoop is not only competing with new-age companies but also with cash-rich media houses such as Times Internet. Most of the competing brands claim to offer similar audiences in quality and size.

Sattvik Mishra

Talking about the USP that attracts brands to ScoopWhoop in such a cluttered space, Mishra and Mukherjee said, “ScoopWhoop has successfully built a unique brand that resonates across the youth of India. Brands understand this and recognise the value of associating with us. Our strategy for monetisation is to consistently be the destination that captures the pulse of what young India loves and curate, plus create the next trending idea.”

The founders claim that ScoopWhoop thrives and survives on offering brands the youth audience at scale. The platform claims to have a weekly organic reach of over 20 mn people and spans 30+ social communities across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp, Helo, ShareChat, Snapchat, Instagram and more.

Rishi Pratim Mukherjee

According to Mishra and Mukherjee, anything that doesn’t fulfil brand objectives isn’t worth doing. A word of caution from the duo is that brands need to define what they want people to think about their product/communication and understand that once something ‘goes viral’ it may not always be positive. And hence, the messaging has to be carefully thought through.

With branded or sponsored content being the primary revenue model, the founders claim that the platform is witnessing heavy growth in display advertising this year. Additionally, ScoopWhoop is in talks with OTT platforms to be a part of their channels on the lines of its competing platforms such as Pocket Aces and The Viral Fever.

ScoopWhoop has no plans to turn paid as of now. “Our focus is to build India's most popular and influential youth content brand and being freely accessible to all is an important part of this vision,” said Mishra and Mukherjee.

High cash burn and reliance on third-party platforms for traffic is a challenge

Over-the-top reliance on third-party platforms and influencer networks for traffic leads to a lot of cash burn for such content platforms who depend heavily on the influencer network on Facebook and Instagram to make content viral and deliver reach.

Globally, Little Things collapsed and BuzzFeed merged with White Media after its visitor base fell from 450 million to 100 million just because Facebook changed its policies and algorithm. In India, another viral content platform Wittyfeed had to bite the dust because one day Facebook decided to pull the plug and ban its page.

A couple of years ago, ScoopWhoop’s web traffic took a hit because Facebook changed its algorithm. While most platforms changed their business model and stopped relying heavily on one platform for traffic, ScoopWhoop does not feel the need to relook at its strategy.

“Our approach is to recognise what the platform user wants, and we tailor the content according to it. We have a symbiotic relationship with the platform. They provide us reach and we add the value to the platform. We will continue with this simple approach. If our content is good and engaging, we will remain relevant on any platform,” they said.

ScoopWhoop faced the brunt of ‘a viral content going wrong’ when it was widely criticised for being socially insensitive during the Nepal earthquake in April 2015. It posted an article titled ‘16 Thoughts That Went Through Everyone's Mind When The Earthquake Happened', which was considered capitalising on human suffering. The platform had to apologise for it later and take corrective measures.

“Reasons to share have changed. Now it’s more ‘fun’ to share content that you hate / that you think is worth making fun of,” the duo said.

So far ScoopWhoop has raised more than $6mn from pedigree investors such as Kalaari and Bharti-Softbank to invest in content creation, sales and technology. Is the platform looking to raise more money for sustenance or trying in the direction to be self-sustained?

They said, “With a very popular brand, best-in-class content and exceptional execution team, we are constantly in talks with potential investors who reach out to us to understand our business better.”