Dive Brief:
- The Economist announced it's the latest media outlet to join Snapchat's Discover platform in a release.
- The magazine will publish a special weekend edition for Discover every week, covering a single topic via 14 or more snaps detailing reporting, charts and maps supplied by the editorial team.
- The new Economist Discover stories will be ad-supported, with Goldman Sachs as the exclusive partner for the first edition.
Dive Insight:
The Economist and Snapchat seem an unlikely fit on paper, especially as the social media platform is largely appealing to millennials and Gen Z, who would not seem to be in the esteemed magazine's target demo. But more literary, long form publications turning to Discover shows how crucial media expansion has become to mags previously defined by print and digital content, and how useful a service like Snapchat can be for boosting that multimedia profile.
"As the news environment becomes ever noisier, our expertise in providing provocative analysis of current affairs, and in spotting trends, helps our globally curious readers understand the future. We look forward to sharing these insights with Snapchat users," said Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist, in the release.
The Economist has the right approach to hopping on the platform through exclusive ad deals with big names like Goldman Sachs, a perfect pairing for the publication's target audience of well-read, economically savvy viewers. The announcement also capped off what became a huge week for Snapchat news, with The Wall Street Journal reporting the social media company is in discussion for a $25 billion IPO as early as March 2017.
The arrival of The Economist is the latest example of how Snapchat Discover continues to expand, including with enhanced targeting for ads.