Snapchat Be Like: Ads Before Bros

Snapchat is turning its most popular feature into prime real estate for brands. The company announced yesterday that it will soon start experimenting with two new ad placements.

Sponsored Snaps

The first, “Sponsored Snaps“, from brands will appear as unread messages in the app's main Chat tab, placed above messages from contacts until they are viewed.

The company says Sponsored Snaps will show up in the chat inbox as a new Snap without a push notification, and opening the message is optional. It’s unclear how easy it will be to remove a Sponsored Snap without opening it, or if that's even possible.

Promoted Places

Alongside Sponsored Snaps, Snapchat will also let advertisers promote locations in the Map tab with “Promoted Places,” where users typically view friends’ locations.

Snapchat’s Redesign Is Giving Déjà Vu

Snapchat also announced yesterday that it’s testing a “simplified” version of its app, raising hopes that history won’t repeat itself. You may remember the app’s failed redesign in 2018, which pissed off millions of users, including Kylie Jenner.

Market Challenges

Snap’s CEO, Evan Spiegel, tried to rally employees with a letter yesterday, following a tough year for the company’s stock price, which has plummeted nearly 50% this year. “Investors are concerned that we aren’t growing faster,” he said.

Snapchat for Boomers

As a result, the simplified version aims to improve the platform’s accessibility and usability, which as TechCrunch points out may be an attempt to lure older users, who find the current interface confusing.

Bluesky Adds 2M Users in Days

While Snapchat works on its comeback to lure users, Bluesky is riding high on a massive user surge.

Following X's court-ordered shutdown in Brazil, the social networking startup Bluesky has welcomed more than 2 million new users in just a few days, up from half a million it had last Friday.

The rapid growth caused some users to see occasional errors indicating “Not Enough Resources” to handle requests, as its engineers raced to keep the servers stable amid the flood of new sign-ups.

Dominating the App Charts

Bluesky's rapid growth propelled it to the top of Brazil's app charts, surpassing Instagram Threads over the weekend. Appfigures reports that Bluesky’s total downloads skyrocketed by nearly 10,600% compared to the previous weekend.

Downloads in Brazil alone surged by more than 1,000,000%, while international downloads increased by 585%, with notable growth in countries like the U.S., U.K., and Canada.

(Chart below shows Bluesky app downloads, prior to the Brazil growth.)

Rising Engagement Metrics

New users have also actively engaged on the platform, boosting other key metrics.

A Bluesky engineer reported that:

Likes surged from 13 million to 105 million in just four days

Follows jumped from 1.5 million to 100 million

Reposts grew from 1.3 million to 11 million.

Google Enhances Performance Planner for YouTube Campaigns

Google Ads has rolled out an update to its Performance Planner, now featuring new “Advanced Plans” that cater specifically to YouTube campaigns. This update includes support for Demand Gen campaigns, for both Action and Awareness goals.

The new plans offer customizable options for budgeting, ad formats, buying methods, and campaign objectives. Advertisers can choose to focus on either driving conversions or enhancing brand awareness.

Key Features

Action Plans are designed to prioritize conversions with a mix of Video Reach, Video View, and Demand Gen campaigns.

Awareness Plans focus on brand visibility through a mix of Video Reach and Demand Gen campaigns to capture conversions.

New “Promotions” Feature in App Campaigns

Google is also testing a new “Promotions” feature for App Campaigns that lets advertisers create event-driven promotions tailored for mobile users.

The feature includes options like:

Occasion selection

Promotion type (e.g., percent discount)

Item name

A pre-filled final URL for the app

Advanced options allow for tracking URLs and scheduling. Finally, a preview option lets you see how ads will appear across Search and Display networks.

E-commerce Growth Amid the Chaos

The future of e-commerce looks promising despite the current economic dumpster fire.

A new report from marketing automation platform Klaviyo has projected growth for brands and increased consumer spending. The report, however, revealed a mix of disconnects between brands and consumers.

Brands vs. Consumers

While brands see discounts and sales as key to driving conversions, consumers want more.

Although 85% of consumers use loyalty programs and mobile apps, only half of brands offer these features.

80% of consumers read product reviews, but only 60% of brands post them. 

On the flip side, livestream shopping and AR/VR features are offered by more than half of brands, yet only a fraction of consumers engage with them.

Influence Gaps in Marketing Channels

The report noted that brands need to be aware that they may be investing in social channels with minimal consumer influence. For instance, while a third of brands focus on paid and organic search, more than half of consumers consider it influential.

Similarly, broadcast advertising and event marketing also show a significant influence on consumers despite lower brand investment.

Profitability Through Adaption

According to the survey, adapting to consumer preferences and offering discounts is not hurting profits. The survey found that more than half of brands increased discounts, despite higher costs, and generally saw improved profits and margins.

Mobile Gaming Ads Level Up

As the mobile gaming ad landscape evolves, a new study from Mintegral has found a growing trend toward longer campaigns and the increased adoption of playable ads.

U.S. Growth

In the U.S., mobile gaming ad spend saw a slight increase of 0.5% over the past year. Despite this growth, the proportion of new advertisers dropped by 30%.

Longer Campaigns

In the first half of the year, the study found that campaign length increased in almost every gaming app category.

Sports games lead with an average campaign duration of 47 days, followed by social gaming apps and racing games, which all saw substantial increases.

Playable Ads

Playable ads have also seen a notable rise, almost doubling from 4% to 7%. Video ads, however, continue to dominate, accounting for more than three-quarters of ads in each category.

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