17th July 2020
POV: Snapchat Brand Profiles
Background:
Snapchat has launched Brand Profiles this week giving brands a permanent home to consolidate their Lenses, Story posts and highlights and providing native ecommerce opportunities.
Details and Implications:
Brand Profiles have been launched in a new, closed beta test with 30 advertisers including Ben & Jerry’s, Dior, L’Oréal Paris, Target and Universal amongst others with plans to expand to other advertisers after the beta test later this year. Brand Profiles are an extension of Public Profiles, which were launched last year and give media networks such as NBC and ESPN a platform to build a following on Snapchat. Brands will now have a similar opportunity.
Brands will be able to edit, manage and analyse their profile and insights within the Snapchat app or through Snapchat’s Business Manager on a web browser. In Business Manager they will be able to see audience demographics and interests for those users that have viewed their Stories. However, the main focus of Brand Profiles is to give brands a place to house various brand elements available within the Snapchat app into a consolidated, permanent home. Users will be able to visit this profile at any time and see the selection including:
Highlights
Highlights is a place for brands to group their best public Snaps, Stories, photos and videos on their profile permanently. It will allow users to get to know brands they are unfamiliar with without waiting for daily content to be published.
Story Posts
Brands’ public stories will also live on their Brand Profiles. Snap refers to a Story as a ‘daily point of view’ giving consumers an insight into the brand’s daily activities.
Branded AR Lenses
Lenses that brands have created or commissioned can be saved onto Brand Profiles. This gives brands the opportunity to maximize the value of their promotional AR experiences beyond one-off campaigns. This will make it easier for users to stay connected to a brand’s messaging.
Native Store
Brands will also have the option to include a Store experience on their Brand Profiles, enabling users to buy items without leaving the app.
Combined, these features are intended to give brands a new home on the app to share their story to Snapchat users. With 229 million daily users, many of whom are millennials and Generation Zs, this new feature gives brands an opportunity to reach that audience natively and build brand perceptions and loyalty. The ecommerce feature also paves the way for further ecommerce integration and other potential advertising opportunities.
Summary:
Snapchat, which made its name through its ephemeral content, is now giving brands a place to permanently house their content and tell their brand story. The launch of Brand Profiles, along with some updated navigation tools also launching this week, is an example of how Snapchat is becoming more accessible and open to a broader range of users and it opens more opportunities for brands to reach audiences on the app.
Further Reading: