That’s thanks to the service’s new advertising format called Sponsored lenses. Advertisers can pay Snapchat for custom-themed sponsored lenses, which will be available to the mass public.
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Earlier in the month, Snapchat unveiled “lenses” – a new type of filer that would allow its users to place them inside something that looked a lot like Iron Man’s suit or turn themselves into a demon.
The Snapchat filters that were introduced in an update last week – allowing people to send selfies with rainbow vomit coming out of their mouths – could soon be used to stick companies’ ads onto users’ faces. Targeting major holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Black Friday for this type of advertising buy, Snapchat plans to charge advertisers as much as $750,000 to reach the entire Snapchat userbase for a single day.
It’s no secret that Snapchat is in need of money.
According to reports, Snapchat has reached a $100m projected annualised run rate, that has been made up of a few brands making $10m commitments. The company in mid-September began offering users the ability to replay a set of three replays for 99 cents.
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Experimenting with new ways of bringing in revenue is commendable, but this idea of branded stickers users can put on their selfies begs the question: will they actually use it? Users can choose to add logos of different brands to their snaps, which markets the brand and allows the Snapchatters to show that they are in touch with the latest and the most popular topics. Snapchat, of course, is contributing its expertise with young people.
