Brief:

• Snapchat's parent company Snap this week introduced a series of online classes to show how direct-response (DR) marketers can engage consumers with call-to-action (CTA) advertising. The first part of its Snap Connect classes focuses on the mobile gaming, apps and e-commerce verticals, per a blog post.
• Snap plans to expand the Snap Connect programming for more industry verticals to help DR advertisers learn how to improve the return on investment (ROI). As part of that effort, Snap Connect this year will publish a report on shopping trends to help advertisers hone their 2021 campaigns. Snap Connect courses are part of the company's Snap Focus marketing education program that debuted in June.
• The company said it has improved its tools for DR marketers in the past few years, introducing formats such as dynamic ads and shoppable augmented reality (AR) lenses. Those improvements include support for app marketers that run app install and reengagement campaigns, and more ways for advertisers to optimize their bidding in programmatic ad placements, the company said.

Insight:

Snap's educational content about DR advertising comes as marketers seek to boost their e-commerce sales as many consumers avoid stores during the pandemic. E-commerce has surged this year, as seen with Amazon's recent report of a 38% jump in online sales that partly offset the 10% decline it saw at physical stores such as Whole Foods Market. The health crisis also has led many people to increase their social media usage while stuck at home, making platforms like Snapchat more important for marketers who seek to reach audiences elusive to other media channels.

DR advertising is especially important to software developers looking to reach new audiences and drive downloads from app stores. Before the pandemic, AppsFlyer predicted app install advertising would surge 32% to $76.2 billion worldwide this year, reaching $118.4 billion by 2022. The provider of mobile attribution and marketing analytics later reported that more than half (54%) of app marketers planned to boost their user acquisition campaigns this year, with 41% saying they would increase their reach and demographics. While the pandemic has led to higher mobile usage, the expansion of 5G service also is likely to boost demand for apps designed for higher-speed networks.

Even before the pandemic, DR advertising had been an important driver of revenue growth for Snap. The company in Q1 said DR advertising had almost doubled its share of revenue from two years prior, making up more than half of total revenue, per data the company shared with Mobile Marketer. With brands and retailers ramping up their holiday promotions earlier this year to avoid a Black Friday and Cyber Monday crush, DR advertising is likely to be even more important for the company.

A growing number of brands have developed campaigns to drive e-commerce sales through Snapchat. Among the more recent examples, luxury clothing brand Dior this week unveiled a new line of sneakers in an AR lens to let people virtually try on the shoes and buy them directly from its Snapchat profile and website. Essie, Kohl's, Levi's, Jordan Brand, Sally Hansen and other brands also offered virtual try-on experiences on Snapchat, per a quarterly report.

In that report, Snap touted AR experiences as an important source of revenue growth as they help marketers engage with its predominantly younger audience. Snapchat reaches more than 75% of people ages 13 to 34 in the U.S., U.K. and France. In addition, more 180 million of Snapchat's 249 million users engage with AR every day, the company has said. As more people used social media during the pandemic, Snap experienced a 52% yearly surge in revenue to a record $678.7 million in Q3.