Snapchat’s rolling out a new ad type within Snap Lenses which will enable advertisers to prompt user action direct from the Lens itself.
As you can see here, the new Lens type includes a call to action built in at the bottom of the display (‘Install now’ in this case), which re-directs to a link of the advertisers’ choice. It’s the latest advance in Snap’s direct response options, and the latest ad upgrade for the company, which is increasingly focused on evolving its revenue options.
Snapchat’s offered the ‘Swipe up for more’ type option on ads since 2016, but they’ve not previously been available within Lenses. Snap has provided sponsored Lenses as a more high-end ad option, but this new tool could help expand the popularity of Lens ads – which, in conjunction with the new capacity for advertisers to create their own Lenses in Lens Studio, could help Snap capitalize on the popularity and usage of the option.
Indeed, Lenses have become one of the app’s most popular tools – according to data from Snap Inc.:
“40% of our community plays with AR experiences every day, for an average of three minutes, making Snapchat the largest platform for AR usage in the world.”
And given the projected growth of AR – according to Boston Consulting Group, around a 80 million smartphone users in the US already engage with augmented reality at least once a month, which is expected to increase to 120 million by 2021 – it makes sense for Snap to put more emphasis on Lenses as an ad tool, playing to the app’s strengths.
As noted, the move is also part of Snap’s wider focus on refining their ad tools to help advertisers tap into their audience, and boost the company’s revenue potential. The company also recently added new location-based ad targeting tools, adding to its growing ad suite, while they’ve also rolled out new insights to better connect your online efforts to offline response.
This also comes as Snap continues to tinker with its redesigned app interface, after initial user feedback was less than enthusiastic. Some users have reported a return to the chronological feed in the ‘Friends’ section of the app, while others are seeing new tabs in the app to simplify usage.
With the company under more pressure to perform, maintaining, and growing, engagement will be a bigger focus moving forward, while building new ad tools to help marketers tap into that usage will also be key to the company’s standing.
Given this, you can expect to see more shifts and tools in line with both objectives moving forward.