The success of Snapchat branding seems unstoppable

Launched in 2011, Snapchat, then called “Picaboo,” was scoffed at by the fellow Stanford University classmates of creators Evan Spiegel and Reggie Brown.

Five years later the creators, now including Bobby Murphy, are laughing at all the sceptics that claimed this “sexting app” would never amount to anything. To date the social media communication application for mobile phones has over 100 million active daily users and 8 billion daily video views.

After numerous attempts to be bought by competitors like Facebook, Snapchat turned down the $3 billion cash offer. The Snapchat Corporation is estimated at a worth of $10-20 billion and has no plans in selling. Snapchat is focused on the future and many brands are taking notice.

Age is but a number:

With the release of new iOS and Android updates, 2016 reports are showing that Snapchat edged out Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to be the most popular social media application for teenagers.

Those ages 18–24 are seeing a 56% growth in user application, the 25–34 year old user base grew 84%, but most significantly those over 35 have seen an 84% growth in their use of the app since 2015. With such a large age demographic covered by this application it has marketers and brands interested in the application’s potential.

Snapchat is no longer following in the footsteps of previous social media giants, they are leading the semi-revolution in advertising. The world seems consumed with the selfie and Snapchat is making it just that much easier.

   

What is Snapchat doing right?

Above all other platforms, Snapchat is allowing for real-time content creation and consumption on a global scale. The 10-second photo allowance time forces users to pay attention and read the “snaps” quickly.

This quick-time thinking has created a mentality that ultimately favours advertisers. Users are hungry for content and are gratified when content comes through that is quick and easily consumable.

With the countdown in the top-right corner, users know they have a limited amount of time to view the content. A user’s tendency is to hone in and focus on the image and message.

Advertisers usually have trouble with all the “noise” surrounding their ads. Consumers rarely are able to filter out what distracts them from the brand’s message and give their undivided attention. Snapchat’s design does not allow for as much white noise letting consumers focus on the richer environment of creation and distribution.

Companies that have embraced Snapchat’s power

To make the process of advertising with Snapchat as easy as possible, the company has taken the time to invest in more targeting options. Advertisers on Snapchat can target based on gender, age, device, location, and context.

Branded geofilters seem to be part of the future on Snapchat advertising. Companies like McDonald’s, Cadbury, Disney, Nike, and the public have created pre-approved filters for locations around the world.

     

One advertising option is Discover, which allows for viewers all over the world to see content hand crafted by the world’s best publishers.

Live Streaming is another option; it is a real story that is uploaded straight by fans and consumers at the geographic location of an event.

Local advertising is what is happening in your city right now, from every angle. And Geofilters are dynamic art created by the public associated with a location or event.

Vertical video moving beyond phones

Vertical video is becoming the latest trend, and Snapchat played a large part.

           

In September Snapchat rolled out their animated lenses that allows you to add an array of special effects to the photos or videos taken with the front-facing camera.

The effects can be customized to each users face and has opened another door for advertisers to get creative. For example below you can see both Beats and Gatorade sponsored these promotional lens that consumers could use for a limited time to share across social media.

       

Jeep made history during the 2016 Super Bowl when it spent $10 million on an advertisement that only used a third of the screen. The commercial looked as though it was filmed on a phone or in a multimedia app like Snapchat.

The sides of the screen were black even when displayed on a TV. Creative director Sean Reynolds, of Iris Worldwide, was responsible for the ad, and said, “We thought about how it would be interesting to build a spot so it worked really beautifully in portrait mode on a tablet or a mobile.”

The future of advertising is being driven by apps and mobile interfaces like Snapchat. This is an exciting time in the marketing field, and the possibilities and developments seem endless.

Snapchat partners with Nielsen

We all know that behind every great campaign is research to support the direction a company goes in. Back in February, Nielsen announced that they will begin collecting data on videos viewed on Snapchat.

This research is significant enough to help brands compare their effectiveness in the social marketing and television advertising realm. The scope of the research will look to Snapchat’s Live Stories, Sponsored Lens and Sponsored geofilters.

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