Focus: Brands hope to cash in on Clubhouse audio app frenzy

FILE PHOTO: The social audio app Clubhouse is seen on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken February 8, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

(Reuters) - Last month, during a live game show on audio-chat app Clubhouse, tech entrepreneur and investor Noah Lichtenstein and his co-hosts handed out $3,200 in prizes funded by Square Inc-owned payment company Cash App, which sponsored the event.

Days later, top executives from Restaurant Brands International, owner of fast food chains Burger King and Popeyes, created their own Clubhouse room to let people quiz them on anything they wanted after their quarterly financial report in an event billed as “Open Kitchen”.