Stipop offers instant access to developers and creators to its huge sticker library. It has more than 270,000 stickers and offers a wide vibrant range of character-driven expressions. The company offers its services on iOS and Android through its mobile apps. Earlier it focussed on the keyboard and social app stickers but now has expanded its offerings to developers, creators, and online businesses.
Stipop co-founder Tony Park said that they were able to get so many artists because they started as an app. Running an app that directly interacted with the customers made them more aware of the process. They gathered many stickers from artists all over the world and helped to license them.
Stipop had become the first Korean company associated with Yellow, Snapchat’s exclusive accelerator. It is also associated with Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 cohort. Developers can access the sticker library through an SDK and an API. It helps the developers place the library into their software. More than 200 companies now make use of Stipop’s sticker library. It had also launched a website recently to help developers combine its SDK and API through easy installs.
As Park notes, stickers promote engagement which will inevitably result in the growth of the social software. The use of stickers in everyday conversations in social media app has increased. It has also made its way into e-commerce and ridesharing apps. Microsoft Teams is reported to have partnered with Stipop in employing the sticker search. Google also employs Stipop in its Gboard, Android Messages, and Tenor. The partnership with Google witnessed 600 million sticker views in its first month. Stipop is also likely to collaborate with Coca-Cola.
Stickers and gifs are often compared. But Park says that stickers are entirely different from gifs. It has its own world in itself according to Park. Visual artists can improve their visibility simply by creating stickers. Since stickers don’t need advanced illustrations, even less-skilled people can also create good stickers. He adds that “Stickers are great for them because it [is] so easy to go viral.” Stipop works with 8,000 sticker creators from different parts of the world. They will earn an income based on the number of times their stickers are shared. Park also notes that stickers are used more in Asia compared to the West. Meaning can be easily incorporated into stickers.
