Snapchat has debuted new lens and filter options for brand advertisers. This is the largest update to Snapchat’s Sponsored Creative Tools since October 2015, and the new updates include World Lenses, Audience Lenses, and Smart Geofilters. These creative tools are heavily used by Snapchat users, making this update extremely appealing to brands who wish to advertise their products.
According to the company, both lens and geofilters have high engagement rates, as 1 in 3 daily users play with Lenses, and snaps with Geofilters are viewed over 1 billion times a day. As of today, Snapchat has already run over 100 sponsored lens branded campaigns.
The World Lenses update is Snap’s main augmented-reality play that show virtual effects in the real world through the front facing camera. For example, brands can now add floating objects to their sponsored lenses, such as film characters or products. Warner Bros. is actually running a sponsored World Lens on Monday for one of its upcoming movies, “Everything, Everything“.
Targeted Lenses allows advertisers to buy a guaranteed number of impressions for targeted audiences based on age, gender, and Snap Lifestyle Categories, which is the audience segment created by Snapchat based on their viewing habits in Our Stories or Discover. The third feature is Smart Geofilters: Snap’s geofilters, which show specific filters at certain locations in the app. With this new update, brands can add specific location information, including names of malls, airports, high schools and more to national geofilter campaigns.
Marketers should take note that in today’s day and age, personalization is key. When trying to reach the younger audiences, these new ad features can steer them in the right direction when it comes to creating a relevant experience for their target markets. As these new Snapchat features offer tons of engagement, marketers are able to promote their brands in a more organic way and to make a mark in the hearts and minds of fans, boosting brand awareness. Although Snapchat lacks Facebook’s amount of reach, these new updates have extended their tools in terms of engagement power, and will encourage advertisers to value user engagement with ads, rather than reach.
What’s your take on advertising on Snapchat?
