By Katelyn Whittaker
Back in January Snapchat made a big change to its platform by adding Live Stories and the Discover Tab. Both additions set the company on a journey for success, becoming an advertising platform that can compete with giants such as Facebook and Twitter.
Live Stories or “curated content” allow viewers to see live events unfold. These stories are submitted by users like you and me, and chosen to be streamed live through the app for all of the whooping 100 million active users to view. Different cities around the world have weeks where, if you are in that geographical location, you can submit your snapchats to show your walk of life in said city. Also, major events such as New Year’s Eve, the Grammy’s, and many more are able to be viewed live by users. This feature takes social media a step further by allowing us to be a part of major events that would have otherwise been inaccessible.
The Discover portion of Snapchat was also added in January and is Snapchat’s premium content. Under the Discover tab, brands have their content available for all users to see. Brands like People Magazine, Buzzfeed, Comedy Central, CNN, and many more upgraded their accounts to Snapchat’s premium version to allow their content to be seen by all; and not just those who follow and friend their Snapchat account.
With these additions in place, Snapchat has been working to make itself the leader in mobile advertising by creating 3V advertising. The three V’s in 3V stand for vertical (made for mobile), video (the best way to tell a story), and views (always fullscreen). These 3V advertisements are a part of the Discover tab and Live Stories, which are two-to-five minute mini shows. Snapchat is placing vertical adverts inside these stories because apparently turning your phone to view horizontal advertisements is too much work. Surprisingly this fact has been proven. According to Daily Mail North America CEO Jon Steinberg, Snapchat said that “vertical video ads have up to 9x more completed views than horizontal ads.”
To ossify 3V, Snapchat has partnered up with Daily Mail and WPP, a public relations company, to launch a new digital content agency called Truffle Pig. The goal of this agency is to provide advertisers with a comprehensive marketing package. This package will include media planning, content marketing, positioning and branding, audience development, and thorough data analytics. Truffle Pig will utilize 3V and be equally owned by all three companies.
3V advertisements look like they are going to take the world by storm and help Snapchat become one of the leaders of mobile advertising. A goal that is highly likely since the company is building everything from the ground up just for mobile. Do you believe 3V advertising is going to MAKE or BREAK Snapchat?!
