Snapchat rolled out its marketing program with notably high price tags. And although it introduced some lower-cost options, they are by no means cheap, especially since Snapchat is usually used for branding, not direct return on investment plays. Plus, the ads are vertical, so advertisers typically have to invest in custom creative to take advantage of Snapchat?s fun and irreverent tone.
Let?s take a closer look at the platform?s advertising options and what they could mean for brands that can?t afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single-day campaign.
Snapchat announced the launch of its ads application-programming interface in June, which signified to the world, and investors, that the platform was getting serious about expanding its advertising options. It also meant that, for the first time, Snapchat ads could be sold by third parties. Before the announcement, Snapchat was selling its premium ad inventory directly, usually in the range of $40 to $60 CPMs (cost per thousand impressions). Some brands spent as much as $750,000 for just a 24-hour window.
Its newer products, sponsored geofilters and sponsored lenses, were also expensive, sometimes costing millions of dollars.
Over the past year, Snapchat has dropped its prices. It now offers programs that start at around $50,000, which, coupled with the API, suggests that Snapchat wants to make it easier for more buyers to test out the platform.
No doubt, it?s scaling its advertising program. While elite ...