Snapchat continues to expand its advertising offering by launching two new ad formats at the heart of its application: Sponsored Snaps in the Chat tab and Promoted Places on the Snap Map. Strategic locations for advertisers, who will be able to reach the 850 million users of the app at the heart of their experience.
Sponsored snaps in conversations
Until now, Snapchat’s Chat tab had remained free of any advertising. But users will now see Sponsored Snaps appear in the middle of their conversations with their friends. Disney is the first advertiser to test this new format.
Concretely, Sponsored Snaps will take the form of full-screen vertical videos, visually distinct from classic Snaps. Users will be able to choose whether to open them or not. If they do so, they will have the option to respond directly to the advertiser or click on a link to find out more. However, no notifications will be sent and unopened Sponsored Snaps will eventually disappear.
Places promoted on the map
The other new feature concerns the Snap Map, the interactive map allowing you to see what your friends are doing and what is happening around you. If local businesses could already advertise there, Snapchat is launching Promoted Places to allow major national brands to highlight all their points of sale.
McDonald’s and Taco Bell are among the first advertisers to test this format in the United States. According to Snapchat, the words “Top Pick” affixed to a location lead to an increase in attendance of 17.6% among regular users. Enough to interest brands looking to generate in-store traffic.
Snapchat strengthens its advertising offering in the face of competition
These launches come as no surprise, as CEO Evan Spiegel announced them in an internal memo last month. They are part of Snapchat’s desire to better monetize its large user base, in a context of slowing down its advertising growth in the face of competitors like TikTok or Instagram.
By investing in the most popular areas of its app, such as Chat and Map, Snapchat hopes to offer more visibility and impact to its advertisers. It remains to be seen how users will react to this increased advertising presence, and whether this will be enough to revive the Snapchat machine against the digital advertising giants.
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