Snapchat Expands Advertising And Reveals New API

An article in adweek.com points out that Snapchat is popular with Generation Y who love the app and its unusual features that include face swapping effects and colorful filters.  Since being named as Snapchat’s first chief strategy officer, Imran Khan has managed to increase the company’s ad business and just recently Snapchat announced the launch of Snapchat Partners.

This is an application programming interface or API that will connect up more than 20 technology companies. The aim is to dramatically expand advertising on the platform in the longer term. With the API, it will be easier for marketers to buy ads on the platform and it means that Snapchat ads will be sold by third parties. These third parties will be divided into Ads Partners and Creative Partners.

Ads Partners is to develop software for Snapchat advertisers, enabling campaigns to be analyzed and optimized and this collaboration includes SocialCode, TubeMogul, Unified, Brand Networks, Adaptly, VaynerMedia, Amobee and 4C.

Creative Partners will represent those with expertise in social content and who have experience with the company’s vertical video format, 3V which is to be rebranded as Snap Ads. This group includes VaynerMedia, The 88, Big Spaceship, Matte Finish, Virtue, R29, Alldayeveryday, BrandLab, The Mill, Studio Number One, Stun Creative, Truffle Pig, MediaMonks, Unit9 and Contented. Truffle Pig is the agency launched last year by Snapchat at Cannes, in partnership with The Daily Mail and WPP.

All API inventory is to be sold via an auction-based, automated system. Ads Partners will sell video inventory that will be automatically invoiced to Snapchat, after which they can collect their fee. It will still be a few weeks yet before the ads can be spotted and it’s Snapchat’s priority to ensure the quality of the ads is high. Snapchat intends to inspect every ad in much the same way Instagram used to.

This will obviously have an effect on ad pricing as so far Snapchat’s premium video ad inventory has been priced on a cost per thousand impressions rate that is generally competitive with TV. It’s expected that API videos and the newly launch Snap Ads Between Stories will be less expensive, although special dates could force up prices due to supply and demand on the auction-based system.

Snapchat is keen to reassure users that they will not overload the system with advertising. Instead they intend to be thoughtful about the ad experience and focused on creativity. Analysts are anticipating that more marketers will begin experimenting with Snapchat and that those already in the experimental phase will be likely to invest more in the platform.

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