Dive Brief:
- Snapchat’s Discover portal newest channel might come as a surprise – it’s going to be the Wall Street Journal.
- The combination will give the Journal access to Snapchat’s 100 million-plus daily users, and possibly make the social messaging platform more enticing outside its millennial-heavy demographic.
- In other Discover news, Snapchat is working with its publisher partners to serve more ads and increase sponsorships on the media channels.
Dive Insight:
Snapchat is expanding the Discover portal, and the newest media partner has a bit deeper roots than some of the current incumbents. The Wall Street Journal is set to launch its Discover channel at some point, although both the Journal and Snapchat haven’t commented on the timing.
It’s an interesting mix of main audiences, but it does give the Journal a branded channel for Snapchat’s more than 100 million daily users. At the same time, a Re/Code article pointed out that Facebook lost a bit of its charm after an older demographic started actively using the social media platform. If the Journal helps Snapchat expand its millennial and Gen Z audience to an older group it might face similar backlash.
Snapchat is also planning on expanding the advertising and sponsorship opportunities for its Discover media partners with more ads beyond the current cap of five per month. Snapchat and its publisher partners have been at odds in the past over the social media platforms restrictive policies.
