Snapchat Advertising for Independent Films Suraj Minisandram and Caroline Miller

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Snapchat as a platform

At the star t, Snapchat was a social media platform with a straightforward objective: send p i c t u r e s t o friends that will

disappear after a few seconds. Since Snapchat’s inception in September 2011, the platform evolved to be a fun, fast-paced and memorable place for users and companies to share content. Digital media advertising is used more than televis ion commercials and billboards. As a result, companies need to seek out different platforms to advertise their content. A dilemma that is an issue for advertisers is how to effectively communicate with people born between 1981-2004, commonly known as “Millennials.”

According to MediaKix, 70 percent of Snapchat users are Millennials and 50 percent of Snapchat users use the app daily. In order to maintain its stream of revenue, Snapchat allows companies to

advertise on their platform. This can be done in three different ways: a 10 second advertisement that plays in between users’ Snapchat stories, sponsored filters and sponsored lenses. A sponsored filter is a frame that is layered over a user’s picture. A lens is a face-altering frame using augmented reality to distort the user’s face. In addition, companies can create a Snapchat account where they can post stories to their followers at no cost.

A challenge for film and television companies is to generate awareness for their upcoming movies. On Facebook, movie advertising is effective because of the ability to create a fan page. Nevertheless, users have to ‘like’ the fan page in order to access that content. With Snapchat, content goes to every user. Especially for independent films, it can be quite a challenge to advertise a new fi lm . To t a rge t a younger demographic and to ensure effective advertising, independent film companies should create a snap story and buy a one-day filter to promote their film.

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Lens: An Augmented View of Reality

In September 2015, Snapchat introduced lenses, a way for users to animate their selfies with augmented reality technology. For $150 million, Snapchat bought the San Francisco based company Looksery, a company that specializes in face-altering technology. Lenses can make someone look like an animal and alter a person’s voice. A month after its release, companies use this advanced technology to advertise their brands. For example, Chipotle turned user's heads into avocados with their logo in the corner. Starbucks turned their users into the famous siren on their cups.

twitter.com/chipotletweets

In addition to food companies, movie companies are using Snapchat lenses to promote upcoming films. For example, the new release of the Blair Witch Project and Ghostbusters made lenses that made it seem like users were stuck in a haunted forest or were encountering a ghost.

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The companies’ sponsored lens purchase is always the first listed in the set of lenses for the day. Sponsored lenses are only up for 24 hours and according to Snapchat, users engage with a sponsored lens for an average of 30 seconds. To get a sponsored lens, you must have your idea submitted and approved by Snapchat. Then, Snapchat will create a mockup lens that the company will approve afterward. Snapchat places emphasis on staying on-brand, even in the realm of advertisements. In other words, advertisements must match the general tone of the social media platform. Movie companies using this advanced technology are from major film studios that have a budget that can afford this type of advertising. Purchasing a 24-hour sponsored lens can cost from $400-750,000. For an independent film company, where producing the film itself can cost around the same amount, this may not be a feasible method for advertising. This type of advertising is fun to users. They are engaging with your advertisement but do not have to sit through a commercial or a pitch. Although it is effective with users, the luxury of this type of advertising is not necessarily accessible to all types of companies due to the cost that goes into creating the lenses.

GeoFilters: An innovative way of transformation

Filters are another fun and interactive way for an independent film to advertise for itself. In the US, a single National Sponsored Geofilter typically reaches from 40 to 60 percent of daily Snapchatters. These GeoFilters can include graphics that are reflective of the film, whether that be a filter that simulates a certain setting in the movie or a

filter that includes the character.

For Snapchat, filters can be submitted and usually get approved within one business day. According to the Snapchat website, GeoFilters fall within two categories, community or on-demand. Community GeoFilters are ones that people are encouraged to create and submit for free for their city, university, a local landmark, or public location. On-demand GeoFilters can be

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purchased by individuals or businesses for events, business, or for a specific location. For on-demand filters, brand logo and trademarks are permitted and would most likely be the type of GeoFilter that would be beneficial to an independent film studio trying to gain awareness for their film. The creation and process of these are so easy, and Snapchat has purposefully designed this so that it is accessible for the masses. This is also a more economically friendly option versus the lens feature, which is notably more expensive.

Snapchat Ads: Reminiscent of Commercials on TV

Snapchat Ads are advertisements that play in between the viewing of Snapchat stories by the user. They are a maximum of 10 seconds, with the option to “swipe up” to see more about the advertisement. This would be a way to give a user a glimpse of a movie’s trailer and by swiping up, the user is able to see extended content such as a full trailer or a mobile website. The swipe up rate for Snapchat Ads, according to Snapchat, is five times higher than the average click-through rate on comparable platforms. This would be a way to generate awareness. Even if they do not swipe up, a user has still seen a glimpse of the film and has been exposed to it.

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Snap stories for advertising Below are useful examples of companies that created a Snapchat account to use for advertising by using the story option. A Snapchat story is a feature that allows users to post photos or videos which are visible for all their Snapchat friends for 24 hours. With this, people in their company will post to the Snapchat story with humorous, entertaining and informative content about their brand. The Snapchat story feature could also be a favorable option to use since it is free. It is an effortless and more relatable way to connect with an audience. For independent films, a Snapchat story can show behind the scenes content of the film, interviews with the cast and crew and can explain more about what the movie is about. 

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All in all

An average budget for an independent film is $750,000 per movie. Even with a smaller budget than major studio films, it is important to set a decent budget aside for advertising. It is vital that independent film companies promote their movies because they do not have a major production company assisting with large-scale marketing. The effectiveness of the advertisement for an independent film determines its success since people will know about it and will be more likely to attend a viewing. Advertising should be an educated and well-calculated investment. According to Snapchat’s website, users are three times more likely to see a film after seeing a

Company Snapchat Username

Sour Patch Kids @sourpatchsnaps

Everlane @EVERLANE

General Electric @generalelectric

Warby Parker @warbyparker

GrubHub @grubhub

The New York Times @thenytimes

DJ Khaled @djkhaled305

Domino’s Pizza UK @DOMINOS_UK

HubSpot @hubspotinc

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Snapchat advertisement. Snapchat is a feasible platform for advertisement for independent films. This can be done through lenses, filters, or in-between story advertising. Looking ahead, independent film companies could advertise their movies by engaging directly with their target audiences through the features offered by Snapchat.

Who We Are

Suraj Minisandram is a junior at Elon University majoring in Media Analytics with a minor in Asian Studies. He has a passion for understanding new media and numbers in order to present data in a way that is easy for the masses. After graduation, Suraj hopes to work for a fashion and lifestyle publication, working in branding.

Caroline Miller is a junior media analytics major at Elon University who is passionate about utilizing data in order to make effective decisions. She aspires to move to San Francisco and have a career in data for brand development at a startup.

For more information, check out the following links: 1. Snapchat advertising information: https://www.snapchat.com/ads 2. Are Branded Geofilters the Future of Advertising on Snapchat? http://mklnd.com/1ObDBXH 3. Snapchat Advertising: What You Need To Know http://bit.ly/2dqT9ex 4. How Snapchat Demographics are Surprisingly Shifting in 2016 http://bit.ly/2d5svqA 5. Will 2016 be the year of Snapchat for advertisers? http://bit.ly/1VzfPsO

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