Snapchat Unveils Next Generation of E-commerce Ad Products

Snapchat is launching the next phase of e-commerce advertising on the platform, following the launch of an advanced performance marketing suite this June. The new update includes four signature advancements available globally to advertisers.

The move comes as Snap’s direct response ads are now driving powerful results for businesses of all sizes. Said the company in an email.

Snapchat has also seen strong success with native commerce campaigns. Nike’s Jordan brand won five prestigious Cannes Lions awards for their AR Jordan video, and adidas recently sold out one pre-released sneaker style using Snapchat.

The four latest e-commerce advancements include:

• Shoppable Snap Ads – testing since June, this new, made-for-commerce format is available in October for all advertisers in Ads Manager.
• Product Catalogues – advertisers can leverage their existing product feeds to help scale and automate ad creation for Snapchat campaigns.
• Advanced Pixel Targeting – advertisers can create audiences based on more specific actions that visitors take on their site, such as when they browse certain product categories (like shoes), instead of any part of their site.
• 40+ new Snapchat Partners – performance agencies certified by Snap to help advertisers succeed with e-commerce, direct response, and data-driven performance marketing.

Creating Unique Brand Experiences

Shoppable Snap Ads are now available to any advertiser through Snapchat’s self-serve buying tool. This format allows a brand to feature a collection of products on their Snap Ad, where users can tap directly to the product details.

Initial testing has shown exceedingly strong performance:

• eBay saw a 5x higher engagement rate with Shoppable Snap Ads compared to standard Snap Ads featuring the same products.
• Guess saw a 4.1x higher engagement rate with Shoppable Snap Ads compared to standard Snap Ads featuring the same products.
• Wish.com, a major online retailer, saw a 17x higher engagement rate with Shoppable Snap Ads compared to standard Snap Ads featuring the same products.

Product Catalogs allow advertisers to import their existing product feeds to Snapchat’s platform. Product feeds are files, often spreadsheets, that contain all the relevant product information for items they sell on their website, such as image, price, color etc. This ‘library’ of assets can be used automatically create a number of Product Ads – Story Ads, Snap Ads and the new Shoppable Snap Ads – through brand new templates in Ads Manager. This increases the speed of ad creation and allows advertisers to test and learn more rapidly.

Advanced Pixel Targeting enables advertisers to create more customized audiences from the actions users take on their site, such as browsing certain product categories like shoes or furniture. This will allow them to deliver more relevant ads to Snapchatters based on their unique shopping preferences.

Snapchat is also adding over 30 new performance agency partners, certified to help with e-commerce, direct response, and data-driven advertising. This program recognizes and certifies industry-leading agencies that help advertisers with everything from pre-campaign strategy to creative execution. Some new partners include:

• Global: Miri Growth (UK), VF Marketing (UK), Nest Performance (UK), Addict Mobile (France), Crowd Mobile (Netherlands)

• US: MuteSix (Steve Weiss, CEO), Lightening AI (Colette Nataf, CEO), Mish Guru (Thomas Harding, CEO), Taktical Digital, Disruptive Advertising, New Engen, Abacus Agency, Madwire

To help expand advertiser’s knowledge of these powerful tools, Snapchat is hosting two online training sessions on the Snap Pixel and e-commerce marketing in September & October. Registration and details can be found on the company’s blog.