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NBC Universal, Electronic Arts see 60pc approval rate with Snapchat ads

Brands including NBC Universal and Electronic Arts are seeing quantifiable results from their advertising efforts on Snapchat, which garnered a receptivity rate that was more than three times the normal, according to a new report from Millward Brown that was sponsored by the social media app. 

Marketing on social media platforms is still relatively new, and accurately measuring the impact of these efforts continues to be a challenge since how consumers engage on these platforms is still being explored. To get consumers? attentions, brands increasingly look to provide interactive experiences, a capability that Snapchat is able to host. 

?Marketers want to know that they are pairing engaging, relevant content with the right audience and driving real results from their advertising spend,? said Stephen DiMarco, president of Millward Brown Digital. 

Causing engagement
Millward Brown Digital measured the first six advertising campaigns to appear on Snapchat to help marketers assess the effectiveness of advertising on its platform.

Snapchat?s first ad format Brand Story was launched in October 2014. Snapchat users can choose to watch Brand Stories comprised of up to 20 seconds of advertisers? photo and video content.

Since November, advertisers have also begun to sponsor Snapchat Our Stories, which are collections of user-submitted photos and video that form a multi-perspective window into geocentric events. 

Initial advertisements using the Brand Story format include campaigns for time-sensitive events, such as opening weekends for NBC Universal?s films Ouija and Dumb and Dumber To, and the latest release of the Electronic Arts' Dragon Age video game series. 

Our Story sponsorships have included Samsung, linked into the American Music Awards, Macy?s and its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade and Amazon and Hollister?s Black Friday marketing.

Millward Brown Digital?s analysis shows that Snapchat users received the campaigns positively; 60 percent of Our Stories and 44 percent of Brand Stories viewers enjoyed the ads. These levels of receptivity are more than three times the norm, according to Millward Brown?s 2014 AdReaction study, which found that 17 percent of U.S. consumers find ads on their smartphone devices very or somewhat favorable.

In addition to the positive user reception, the research found that Snapchat?s first six advertising campaigns had a significant positive impact on key brand metrics, including ad awareness and brand favorability. Across Snapchat?s two ad formats, advertisers saw on average a 16 point lift in ad awareness, which ranked in the top quarter of similar mobile campaigns, according to Millward Brown Digital?s mobile MarketNorms, a database consisting of more than 550 mobile marketing campaigns.

Also, research linking ad exposure to offline activity indicated that viewers of the Dragon Age video game Brand Story were 7 percent more likely to buy the game, exhibiting purchase intent in the top quarter of similar mobile campaigns. Millward Brown Digital also measured the impact of NBCUniversal?s Ouija and Dumb and Dumber To Brand Stories on actual movie attendance during the films? opening weekend, finding that the campaigns drove a 13 percent increase in turnout amongst those exposed.

The platform of today
Top brands of all sectors are jumping on Snapchat.

Macy?s and Marriott are two of the top brands that have used Snapchat as part of their mobile marketing strategy, and both have leveraged the social media application in very different ways. 

Macy?s offered its customers a first look at some of its Black Friday specials via Snapchat, while Marriott rolled out an interactive series on the app as part of its big mobile push. Both brands recognized that the growing importance of Snapchat in the marketing sector allows for a plethora of ways to leverage the app in a way that is consistent with the target audience and overall campaign (see story).

Also, Marriott International recently introduced a branded Snapchat programming campaign in conjunction with popular content creators to augment awareness, making it the first hospitality brand to use the social media application as the center of an advertising campaign.

The three month-long campaign kicked off on Dec. 18 by launching the @MarriottHotels channel on Snapchat, featuring content from social media influencer Shaun McBride. In a bid to entice a younger demographic of travelers, each of the four chosen influencers will be traveling to key Marriott properties worldwide, taking trip itinerary suggestions from fans and documenting their journeys on Snapchat (see story).

?We are delighted to be partnering with Snapchat to quantify the impact of advertising on its platform and help marketers gain value from their marketing investments," Mr. DiMarco said.

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York