Snapchat logo
Snapchat, the viral photo sharing application for smartphones boasting a 100 million user base, has recently and deliberately entered in the world of advertising. This decision has given rise to a double challenge: on the one side Snapchat has to help marketers to figure out how to deal with the app and why expiring ads could be a good investment for them; on the other one, companies need to rapidly find the best way to harness this brand new channel, accordingly to their target audience.
How does the Snapchat advertising actually work? First of all, the sponsored content appears in the “recent updates” section of the app, not invading the personal communication among users, and people are able to choose whether to watch it or not. The advertising snap is not individually targeted and it disappears after the reproduction or, in any case, after 24 hours. Thus, it is pretty clear that the marketing approach to be used in this channel should be different from the one suiting other kinds of social media. The aim is to provide the users with an advertising experience that is both “fun and informative”, as Snapchat has plainly stated on its official blog. It seems to be an attitude which focuses more on creating satisfaction and enjoyment for users, rather than pleasing advertisers.
Screenshot displaying the Ouija ad.
Notably, companies deciding to invest on a Snapchat advertisement run the risk of spending money on something that the audience can simply refuse to watch. This means that the marketing effort should be oriented on the ability of to offering a really appealing and catchy content to users. Marketers creativity will surely be the main driver of success in the world of vanishing ads. Thus far, the feeling is that companies don’t want to miss this opportunity, but still they don’t know how to exactly do it. Here’s the video of the first Snapchat ad, a trailer promoting the “Ouija” movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwqhExxwRU0
We have to give credit to Snapchat of its attempt of pushing the digital marketing through the path of producing a mutual value-adding content, benefitting both customers and companies. In fact, Snapchat ads seem to be a fair deal for everybody: the app will raise some money, the customers will watch just what they care about and the companies have a new digital channel to reach their target. Let the challenge begin!
Sources:
http://blog.snapchat.com/post/100255857340/advertising-on-snapchat