Dive Brief:

• Snapchat launched the Discover publisher portal in January to give media companies access to its millennial user base, but so far brands are using it for content rather than advertising.
• Compared to an average of 110 daily "stories" published to the portal daily, there’s only been an average of 2.5 ads served per day.
• The underwhelming numbers come after Snapchat changed the 12 publisher lineup of Discover in July, dumping Yahoo and Warner Music in favor of more-millennial-friendly BuzzFeed and iHeartRadio.

Dive Insight:

Responding to these figures, the ephemeral messaging social media platform says the idea behind the portal was to offer engaging content for its users and it only began promoting ad sales at the end of July. Providing insight into how brands are approaching the portal, Meredith Artley, editor-in-chief, CNN Digital told AdAge, "The first thing we were going for was the audience and the chance to curate and craft and edit stories in a new and interesting way for that audience on that platform. Then we'll get the revenue later."

Snapchat launched its Discover portal for publishers, providing 12 selected brands access to its user base that skews heavily toward millennials. So far that move hasn’t really led to significant revenue for the company with an average of 110 stories posted each day by those brands against an average of only 2.5 ads served each day. And Snapchat has already shaken up its publisher mix, replacing Yahoo and Warner Music for more-millennial-friendly BuzzFeed and iHeartRadio at the end of last month.

Industry insiders expect Discover ad buys to pick up in Q4 with the holiday marketing push.