Dive Brief:
- Snapchat is addressing a complaint marketers have voiced about advertising on the social platform: performance metrics on ad campaigns.
- Now, Snapchat is partnering with third-party app analytics firm Tune to provide advertisers’ insights into app install ad campaigns.
- According to Adweek, offering metrics is a move by Snapchat to remain competitive with more established ad platforms like Facebook and Google. App install ads are big business with Facebook where it leads all other platforms and outlets, according to recent research from AppsFlyer.
Dive Insight:
An anonymous source briefed on the messaging app's ad-tech partners told Adweek, "It's a natural progression for Snapchat — they see that this is a success that Facebook had."
For Snapchat advertisers, Tune will provide insights into how many people downloaded and opened an app after engaging with Snapchat app install ads.
About the shift in offering ad measurement, Kevin Lange, svp of social media at Starcom Media Group, told Adweek, "Enabling measurement is essential for them to move out of the 'test' social budgets bucket and effectively compete for video ad dollars, e-commerce dollars."
The move to become somewhat more "marketer-friendly" by providing more measurement around ads on the platform comes at a time when Snapchat is becoming attractive to advertisers. A recent survey of senior U.S. ad buyers by Cowen and Company found that at 22%, Snapchat led the list of social media platforms those buyers expected to begin advertising on this year for the first time, outpacing Instagram and Pinterest both at 12%.
Social media advertising has solidified its footing in the marketing landscape, and social platforms are vying for those ad dollars. But in order to secure spenders, social media companies will have to continue to make concessions to marketers so they can justify their spend.
