Dive Brief:
- Social media platform Snapchat has chosen Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings to measure the audience of its 3V mobile ad units, according to a release.
- 3V ads are a full-screen, vertical video ad format that Snapchat users find within its premium and curated Discover platform and Live Stories.
- The Nielsen ratings will offer marketers metrics including mobile audience reach, frequency, demographic composition and gross ratings points which Nielsen described as consistent with metrics across TV and digital.
Dive Insight:
Marketers looking for third-party verification on Snapchat ads will get their wish.
Marketers have long complained that Snapchat charges a premium for ad units, but doesn't offer measurement and targeting options that other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram provide advertisers. Choosing Nielsen as a third-party partner for measurement metrics signals that Snapchat is becoming more serious about its advertising business.
“Snapchat’s 3V ads represent a unique approach to advertising,” said Steve Hasker, chief operating officer at Nielsen, said in a statement. “We’re proud that Snapchat has chosen Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings for its first foray into standardized campaign measurement and look forward to continued collaboration.”
Snapchat offered a rare comment in the same statement. “We’re excited to work with Nielsen to measure the great results our advertisers see every day on Snapchat," said Imran Khan, chief strategy officer at Snapchat. "We’re committed to bringing all the major measurement solutions to our platform.”
Last November, Snapchat began offering limited targeting capability through what it called “audience bundles” that allowed marketers to choose themes such as “entertainment” and place campaigns into Discover channels that fit the theme to reach that broadly-targeted audience.
