Dive Brief:
- Snapchat announced two new advertising solutions that take advantage of some of the social media platform’s most widely used spaces, according to a press release. The announcement was timed to Advertising Week New York.
- The platform has begun testing Sponsored Snaps, which enables advertisers to send full-screen vertical videos directly to Snapchat users, in addition to Promoted Places, which allows advertisers to highlight locations on the platform’s Snap Map.
- Launch partners for the new products include Disney, McDonald’s and Taco Bell. The latest unveiling from Snap follows other recent moves meant to court advertisers as the company continues to see growth.
Dive Insight:
Snap is again making the case to advertisers that its platform offers a direct connection to consumers and tangible results across the purchase funnel with the reveal of two new ad solutions. Snap saw the number of total active advertisers on its platform more than double year-over-year in the second quarter, while its revenue increased 16% to $1.24 billion.
To launch its Sponsored Snaps solution, Snap teamed with Disney, a move that could help it build initial attraction. Promoted Places launched with McDonald’s and Taco Bell.
With Sponsored Snaps, advertisers can directly message consumers with the full video content Snapchatters are familiar with directly in their inboxes. Users who opt to open the message may choose to message the advertiser directly or open a link. Sponsored Snaps messages will be visually distinct from typical friend messages and will be automatically deleted if they remain unviewed, per press details.
Over time, Sponsored Snaps could also become a means for two-way interactions, including conversations between brands and Snapchat users powered by artificial intelligence (AI), Snap detailed in its release. Such conversations could help with customer support, recommendations and faster transactions.
Meanwhile, Promoted Places on Snap Map offers an opportunity to speak to users where they are while they are using the app. Snap Map allows consumers to see what is happening nearby and which places are “Top Picks” based on the Snapchat community’s visitation trends. More than 350 million users access the Snap Map every month, and places that are marked as “Top Picks” on Snap Map drive a typical visitation lift of 17.6% for frequent users relative to those who are shown a place without an annotation, per release details.
Snapchat has been upping its game in recent months to showcase its advertiser-friendly programs. The platform recently brought back its Halloween-themed content series “Phantom House” with sponsors including Maybelline, State Farm and Hulu. In April, Snap introduced an Advanced Partner Program to give certain agencies personalized training sessions, dedicated support and other perks.
At a time when social media has come under fire for spreading misinformation and general toxicity, Snapchat has also been positioning itself as a more positive online platform in hopes of appealing to both advertisers and consumers.
