By the end of this month, advertisers will be able to purchase most of Snapchat’s ad formats programmatically with the platform rolling out a tool for all advertisers dubbed ‘reach and frequency’ that lets brands purchase its popular AR lenses in a more automated, targeted way.
The move marks the latest play from Snap to show clients that Lenses have evolved from an expensive brand awareness tool to a targeted – if playful – performance buy. It also hopes that increasing the amount of ad inventory available using programmatic tools might just help assuage investor concerns too.
Speaking to The Drum, Snap’s UK creative strategy lead David Norris said: “It’s not just the creative opportunity that’s evolving but also the media opportunity. There’s the ability now for brands to create their targeted audience and understand their guaranteed scale that they’re going to reach, and for us that’s really exciting.”
Brands like Specsavers, Adidas, Match.com and more have been among those trialing Snap’s various lens formats during the past 12 months. This now includes an actionable ‘shoppable AR’ offering, where users can buy products without leaving the app, although this type of buy isn’t available on its self-serve platform yet.
Essentially, the wider rollout of the reach and frequency tool will allow brands, and their agencies, to plan and buy AR lenses plus vertical video ads (or Snap Ads in Snapchat speak) in advance via Snap’s ads manager platform. Brands can still purchase a lens on a national level.
“Building in the flexibility around reach and frequency will enable a more efficient, and guaranteed scale for an advertiser … we’re just trying to build in more opportunities besides the launch of lens studio to enable brands to create and activate lenses.”
Snapchat is on the AR forefront with their clever overlays, and many think the platform is for the young generation, however as it continues to grow, we have seen more and more people adopting the technology. Could you envision your company using Snapchat as part of your ad spend? Let us know in the comments!
