Snapchat may or may not become mobile television for younger generations. But the app's parent, Snap Inc., which appears to be on the cusp of an IPO, wants TV advertisers to think about it that way and spend their money accordingly.
Today, the Venice, Calif.-based company revealed a partnership with Nielsen's mobile Digital Ad Ratings (mDAR) unit, giving brands the ability to buy guaranteed Snapchat audiences by age group and gender. For the most part, it's the same kind of system—from ordering to measuring the results—that marketers are accustomed to with Nielsen's TV offerings.
The television-minded data endeavor meshes well with Snapchat's other recent announcements, such as striking an original content deal with Turner Broadcasting last month. Snapchat also has dedicated video agreements with TV brands like NBC and MTV.
Tuesday's development expands the Snap-Nielsen relationship, which had been limited to ads measurement. And to be clear, the mDAR move simply gives brands another purchasing option, as the other methods of buying Snapchat campaigns via its ads API remain available.
For the last two years, Snapchat execs have worked quickly on their advertising capabilities. For instance, they inked a deal with Oracle just last week to let brands use offline data to drive better campaigns on the app.
In the end, it's all about mobile video with its Snap Ads, which are full-screen vertical spots that can be immersive, as Snap competes with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest and hopes to impress Wall Street investors.
