Dive Brief: 

• Popular messaging app Kik has added the ability for brands to target users based on gender, geography, and mobile device—either Apple or Android. 
• Kik introduced "Promoted Chats" last year to help brands reach its 200 million users—mostly sought after young users. 
• Along with the audience targeting, Kik introduced new reporting capabilities that will help brands understand how Promoted Chats perform. 

Dive Insight: 

Snapchat has been receiving a lot of attention for its advancements in advertising, but, despite the $750,000 price tag, the messaging app has little in the way of targeting. Kik could catch up, and potentially surpass, Snapchat in advertising if it can prove to brands that the sponsored messaging is reaching the right audience.

Targeting isn't the only stride Kik has made in the messaging competition, either. The app has made investments in animated gifs for ads and now boasts a higher engagement rate than Snapchat.