Snapchat’s First Commercial Ad Offering Moves Out of Beta

Snap Inc. revealed during an industry event Tuesday that it is moving its First Commercial offering out of beta and making it widely available to U.S. advertisers, and it detailed several new docuseries that are joining its Snap Originals slate. First Commercial was introduced in beta in April and made available to select advertisers through direct sales, with the company saying at the time that it would eventually be sold programmatically. The option lets brands ensure that their ad is the first commercial any user sees within the first Snap show they watch that day. Snap said brands including NBCUniversal’s Peacock and Tinder took part in the initial beta of First Commercial, with the latter becoming the first brand to run a First Commercial alongside a national lens and national filter on the same day, resulting in a cost per completed view of $0.04. Tinder vice president of North American marketing Nicole Parlapiano said in an email, “We know we can count on Snap to consistently deliver creative tools and media formats that help us engage with our audience in novel ways, putting our members at the center of our brand, while giving them the freedom to create in ways that inspire them. For the launch of our photo verification feature, we used a national lens and national filter to highlight how these selfies can make your Tinder experience more authentic. At the same time, we added a First Commercial to the mix so that we also reached users watching shows on Snapchat’s Discover platform. All together, these three touch points drove meaningful adoption of the feature across the U.S.” The company added that brand awareness lift is more than two times higher when the first ad Snapchatters see on its platform is a Commercial, compared with a traditional Snap Ad. First Commercial will be available to all U.S. advertisers via Snapchat’s Ads Manager in mid-October. Snap also detailed a slate of upcoming docuseries that focus on civic engagement and social justice and feature high-profile celebrities. New shows include: Honestly Loren, from ITV America and Sirens Media, premiering in 2021, features Loren Gray, one of the most popular social media superstars since the age of 13, questioning it all—love, friendship, her career—in an honest and entertaining way in order to figure out what happiness really means to her.Life’s a Tripp, from Trooper Entertainment, also set to debut next year, features Trippie Redd casting his first-ever vote in the most important election of our time and then embarking on a journey to experience firsthand major issues from drug addiction to police reform with the help of celebrity friends.Swae Meets World, from Big Fish Entertainment, premiering in 2021, features Swae Lee preparing to release his first solo album, the most pivotal moment in his career. They join other new and returning series, including: Colin Kaepernick vs. the World, season three debuts next year.Good Luck Voter! featuring Peter Hamby debuted Oct. 1.The Solution Committee, featuring Jaden Smith, premiered Sept. 21.While Black With MK Asante season two kicks off in November, but there will be a special voting episode at the end of October, ahead of Election Day. Snap said the daily average number of users watching Shows on its platform was up 45% year-over-year in the second quarter, with more than 80% of its daily viewers watching content on Discover at least three days per week. The platform added that Will From Home, featuring Will Smith sharing his quarantine experiences, has been watched by over 35 million Snapchatters.

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Snapchat’s First Commercial Ad Offering Moves Out of Beta

The platform added several docuseries to its Snap Originals slate

David Cohen

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