Snapchat claims 100 million people (majority millennials) use Snapchat every day, and brands are splurging on pricey tactics to reach this audience. Snapchat’s first social marketing advertising strategy came from ‘geofilters’ where users can overlay the branded filters on their snaps before publishing to their friends and story. Combining a real-world image with this digital element, Snapchat and brands have collaborated in the creation of an augmented reality form of advertising. Early this year, Snapchat rolled out a new augmented reality ad unit that lets marketers pay so that users can see images or words overlaid on the world around them through their phone’s camera. Different to ‘

Early this year, Snapchat rolled out a new augmented reality filter that lets marketers pay so that users can see images or words overlaid on the world around them through their phone’s camera. Different to ‘geofilters’, the latest from Snapchat gives users the ability to add a “3D” figure to their videos and images (ie: the now famous dancing hotdog).  These figures are appropriately branded and targeted to specific audiences. It is similar to the face-distorting filter ads that Snapchat sells, like when Taco Bell paid so that users could turn their faces into tacos but goes a step further. These new ads, called “Sponsored World Lenses,” are not specific to taking selfies and work with the phone’s outward-facing camera.  Snap has argued that the company is going to continue to succeed through creativity and quality products, not massive scale. Launching new ad formats that marketers can’t find on other networks like Facebook or Twitter falls into that quality argument.

What we can take away from this; the bar for engaging advertising has been set. Connect with users and/or buyers with a personalized experience is becoming more of a need than a trend. Snapchat’s success with AR advertisements is a true breakthrough for augmented reality and an even bigger market for digital advertising. For more information, read on here.