Dive Brief:
- Fox, using measurement tools to track campaign effectiveness, found its Snapchat Sponsored Lens campaign from March promoting its TV series "Empire" drove brand awareness 16 points. According to Adweek, the ad saw over 33 million plays, and the campaign also boosted tune-in intent by 8%.
- Snapchat has historically offered little in campaign metrics beyond basics such as total views, but since it began working with WPP's Millward Brown, using their Brand Lift Insights tool to survey opt-in participants via email after viewing ads, has begun sharing data as it builds its ad offering.
- Angela Courtin, Fox's evp and CMO, told Adweek, "We wanted to create a campaign that echoes the same level of energy, creativity and urgency the hit show delivers every week."
Dive Insight:
News of Fox’s Snapchat success comes after Taco Bell ran a Cinco de Mayo Snapchat Lens effort that hit a record 224 million views in one day, besting the previous mark of 165 million views set by Gatorade’s Super Bowl ad. Very recently Snapchat rolled out a new ad unit that allows marketers to completely take over its Lenses for a day with 20th Century Fox becoming the first brand to take advantage of that option to promote the new "X-Men" film.
One common element to all three campaigns is they are likely to appeal to at least some segment of Snapchat’s Gen Z and millennial heavy audience.
Snapchat advertising does come at a premium price for a still somewhat niche social media app. Sponsored Lens campaigns have been reported as costing as much as $750,000 and it’s been speculated that 20th Century Fox’s "X-Men" takeover of lenses for a day likely cost north of that figure.
The results from Taco Bell and Fox’s campaign also provide a proof of concept that as problematic as Snapchat might seem to marketers, it does deliver on the type of metrics – such as a large number of views and increased brand awareness – that marketers could once only find via linear TV.