Brief:
- Wedding planning site The Knot waived the $100 fee for its photo-sharing app, which the company renamed to The Guest from Veri by The Knot, according to a company press release. The Guest app automatically compiles photos and videos that attendees of weddings and events capture with their smartphone cameras.
- As part of the app's rebrand, The Knot is running a sweepstakes that will give a $10,000 prize to a couple who plans to host an event, including a wedding, bridal shower, bachelorette weekend or rehearsal dinner. To enter, couples must download The Guest on iOS or Android, create an event in the app and invite at least 10 guests.
- The Knot's research shows that couples who use its photo-sharing app receive an average of 870 photos and videos from their guests, compared with an average 22 photos that attendees upload to Instagram.
Insight:
By offering The Guest app for free, The Knot has likely boosted its value proposition to the 1.8 million U.S. couples who get married each year. While the wedding planning service says its photo-sharing app allows wedding guests to upload more photos than they do on Instagram, the $100 fee may have been off-putting to younger couples who have documented their lives with free social media platforms.
The Knot, which acquired Veri in September 2017, has helped to boost app downloads by 126% and shared videos by 111% from a year earlier. The photo-sharing app has captured 5.76 million photos and videos, The Knot noted in its release. The company, which is owned by digital publisher XO Group, also has free planning tools to manage guest lists, gift registries, budgets, timelines and vendors, among other services.
The Knot is among the brands that travel site TripAdvisor is adding to a revised mobile experience that emphasizes social connections and travel experiences. TripAdvisor last month started expanding its community beyond travelers who provide reviews of their experiences to include brands, social media influencers, publishers and friends. TripAdvisor users can follow The Knot, along with other media brands like Condé Nast Traveler, Travel Channel, National Geographic, Pandora Music and PopSugar.
