Diego Magnani says that the platform wants to surpass the mark of 125 thousand weddings this year
One of the fastest growing segments in the post-pandemic, the wedding market has also been boosting specialized websites. At iCasei, last year’s increase was 36%, with more than 85,000 events transacted. For 2023, the expectation of the platform, which brings a list of gifts that can be converted into cash for the bride and groom, among other resources, will exceed the mark of 125,000 weddings. In January of this year, we already had a volume 10% higher than the same period in 2022, highlights CCO Diego Magnani. According to him, iCasei invests a lot in research to understand the needs of the sector. As we are pioneers and market leaders, innovating becomes more and more difficult.
Origin
The idea came up in 2007, when the founder (Luis Machado) got married and decided to create a website to share information about his marriage. At that time there was still no digital boom. After the wedding, people praised the site a lot, found the idea sensational and started to encourage him to turn the initiative into a business. Six months later, he, who works in the technology area, already worked at Oracle, launched the first version of iCasei.
start
In the beginning, it was basically a tool to build websites, but the big boom came a few years later, when we launched the gift list converted into cash. With that, the newlyweds gained the freedom to be able to choose and even use the money to make the honeymoon trip. Another point that made the journey much easier was the confirmation of presence, when iCasei really consolidated and there was a very strong organic growth. After a few years, we started to implement layout templates. Today, we have more than 200 layout templates available. Couples can customize the site, such as adding their favorite color, a photo from the rehearsal, any information they want, in a very complete and interactive way.
Wealth
There are people who still go to traditional stores and couples who do both: they use the list of stores and our website. We have list integration feature. The iCasei movement was so strong that brands like Camicado, among others, started making lists online as well. These stores are even our partners at a certain point in the journey, because we understand that the bride and groom can be there too. But who comes to iCasei, more than 90% because of the list converted into money.
plans
We are the only platform with its own payment method. The money falls directly into the couple’s account, within two business days, after the redemption request. We have free plans with the list, where we charge an advance fee to operate. There is a setting where the bride and groom can assume this fee in place of the guests. The paid plans, on the other hand, bring extra features, such as digital invitations and personalized domains, among others.
Marketing
Today, we invest a lot in Google and we also partner with wedding companies, which are a source of registration. It is an interesting option for expansion in the country, as people still do not know about iCasei outside the Southeast. And we want to take the product to the whole of Brazil. We also have campaigns running on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. We also have a YouTube channel, where we are increasingly investing in video production. Offline, we already had some actions, but it didn’t have the expected result. We participated, for example, in two seasons of the reality show Fbrica de Casamentos (SBT), and we understand that it was good for brand exposure, but not so much for the conversion part.
Mercado
In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, the wedding market stopped. In the second half of 2021, events began to slowly resume and 2022 was full of weddings that were dammed. In December of last year, there were three times as many weddings for the period. In January of this year, we already had a 10% greater volume of users on the platform than the same period in 2022, which was also great. It is estimated that more than a million marriages are performed annually in Brazil.
Read the full story in the February 27, 2023 issue