Snapchat has officially monetized its photo messaging application over the weekend by releasing its very first sponsored advertisement for the upcoming Universal Pictures film “Ouija.” The ad was a 20-second trailer for the new movie and was only viewable for United States Snapchat users.
The ad appeared in the app’s “Recent Updates” section and users were given the option of either viewing it or not. It’s unknown as to how long the advertisement will stay in the section or how many times Snapchat updates its new ads. Many expect Snapchat to move ahead by experimenting with sponsored ads
Doug Neil, Universal Pictures executive VP of digital marketing, told Ad Age that the trailer was specifically edited with Snapchat in mind as the scenes were put together in a “Snapchat Story.” Neil added that the ad had to be a video per the request of Snapchat.
Company officials had previously warned users that the ads were coming, but many were still surprised by them. Nevertheless, Snapchat, which is currently valued at $10 billion, told users in a blog post Friday that it needs to generate revenues.
“Understandably, a lot of folks want to know why we’re introducing advertisements to our service. The answer is probably unsurprising – we need to make money,” the company wrote. “Advertising allows us to support our service while delivering neat content to Snapchatters. We promise that we’ll use the money we make to continue to surprise the Snapchat community with more terrific products – that’s what we love to do!”
As we reported last month, marketers will spend close to $6 billion this year on digital video advertisements. It is projected that this segment of the advertising market will soar to $14 billion in the next couple of years. With Snapchat having such a high valuation, and finally beginning to make money, the social media outlet can certainly make some big change in ads.
