Snapchat leans into out-of-home ads in campaign promoting Lenses

Snapchat will promote its camera and augmented reality lenses with a new global campaign fueled by out-of-home QR codes that will look to take advantage of more people commuting and traveling about. “As people start emerging out in the world, we thought it would be a good opportunity to show them something surprising and fun,” says Snap CMO Kenny Mitchell. "Open Your Snapchat," which was designed internally and is Snap's largest global marketing campaign, will rely heavily on out-of-home and digital ad placements in places where people often have their phones out, such as bus stops, baggage claims, or waiting for a friend at a restaurant. The ads will feature Snapcodes, Snap’s version of QR codes, that will encourage bystanders to, well…. open their Snapchat. Snap declined to share how much was spent on the campaign, although prices for out-of-home advertising are on the rise. The ads will be placed in major cities in the U.S., U.K., Mexico, and India, with Snapcodes triggering lenses relevant to the location. A billboard in New York City will let users see a jungle lens overlay the concrete jungle, as well as a placement on the John F. Kennedy airport baggage claim carousel that will reveal a lunar landscape. A flying whale will greet commuters who open the app in London’s Waterloo station. One variable that may impact the reach of the campaign is the uptick in Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. But Snap does not seem to be concerned; the campaign will also include some digital and video ad placements on websites. “OOH is just one element of Open Your Snapchat, as we will be reaching consumers with comprehensive digital and video, as well,” a Snap spokesperson said in an email. Snap is also highlighting its e-commerce capabilities in the campaign. Ads lining the walkway of the Westfield Bridge in London will open to lenses featuring brands like American Eagle, Ralph Lauren, and the Jordan Brand. The social app has also looked to position itself at the forefront of augmented and virtual reality in the e-commerce world. This year alone, Snap has acquired four companies to continue bolstering their AR/VR capabilities, including Vertebrae, Fit Analytics, and Pixel8. The campaign comes on the heels of strong growth by Snap. In its most recent earnings, the company reported revenues of $982 million, up 116% from a year ago. Even more enticing for advertisers was the increase in daily active users to 293 million, up 55 million from a year ago, and up 13 million compared to the first quarter. The new campaign will also include a business-to-business marketing push in the fall. Snap says they’ll feature brands that have had success using the app to drive engagement and sales. Snap is vying to show advertisers that it is an alternative to Facebook and Instagram. In it second quarter earnings, Snap said that it had not been as impacted by Apple’s iOS privacy changes as it had anticipated. This was partly from the Apple update rolling out later than expected, and iOS users pushing off the update. “The product teams and the engineering teams have been working really closely with all of our partners and our sales teams to make sure that this transition for our advertisers is as smooth as possible,” Jeremi Gorman, chief business officer, Snap, said during the earnings call.

Snapchat leans into out-of-home ads in campaign promoting Lenses

Featured Stories