Snapchat Is Planning A Move Into News, Advertising

Snapchat, the Mission Impossible-style communications app (your message will self-destruct in 3, 2, 1), is planning to expand into news, entertainment and advertising, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reported that the startup has been talking to advertisers and at least a dozen media companies, including newspapers, magazines and television networks, in recent weeks about a service called Snapchat Discovery, which would show content and ads to Snapchat’s youthful users.

The new product, expected to debut in November, would let Snapchat users read articles and watch video clips by holding a finger on their smart phone screen, as they do now with messages on the platform.

The Journal reported that Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel has been pitching advertisers himself, talking up the fact that users send 500 million snaps a day, 50% of users are 13 to 17 years old and that average users check their app 14 times daily. Snapchat doesn’t report active user totals, but comScore estimates that 27 million people used the app in June, compared to 11 million a year ago.

That young, active demographic is obviously an enticing target for brands, as the Journal noted:

While several brands, such as Yum Brands Inc.’s Taco Bell and food-delivery service GrubHub Inc., already use the service to offer promotions and hold contests with their most loyal customers, Snapchat Discovery likely would be the first paid promotions sold within the app.

By joining with professional content providers, Snapchat would make its service more appealing to advertisers. The company last year unveiled Snapchat Stories, a tool for linking together multiple messages that don’t disappear as quickly as other “snaps” on the app. Snaps typically disappear 10 seconds or less after the user sees them.

“Snapchat has been laying a lot of groundwork for making it a place that is safer for brands,” said David Berkowitz, chief marketing officer at ad agency MRY.

Read the full Journal report here.

(Stock image by 360b / Shutterstock. Used under license.)