Snap Select will let advertisers reserve video inventory at fixed CPM

Snapchat announced Friday it is launching Snap Select to give advertisers using the platform’s six-second non-skippable ads access to premium video inventory. Snap Select is scheduled to roll out later in the second quarter and will allow advertisers to reserve inventory via Snap’s Ads Manager at a fixed cost-per-impression.

Why we should care

Snap has been putting a lot of time and effort into building out Discover programming options, now offering more than 450 premium content channels worldwide from outlets like NBCUniversal, ESPN, BuzzFeed, Viacom, Discovery and Refinery29.

Over the last year, the time spent watching Shows on Snapchat (content produced by the company’s Discover partners) has more than tripled. Snap said nearly half of its daily Discover viewers watched content on the platform every day of the week last quarter.

With Snap Select, advertisers will now have access to the app’s top video content and the ability to reserve Commercials inventory to run at certain times at a fixed CMP within Ads Manager. Snap said it will also be releasing a list of Shows connected to the premium inventory where Commercial ads are eligible to run, making the program transparent to advertisers.

“Snap Select gives marketers and agencies access to reserve inventory in the most premium, popular shows on Snapchat, and a direct path to reach Millennial and Gen Z audiences that are increasingly difficult to reach elsewhere. We’re thrilled with our ability to deliver ROI with non-skippable, full-screen Commercials, with sound on and at scale,” said Snap VP of global agency partnerships David Roter.

A new “Proposals” feature will allow media to buyers review and approve their Snap Select plans using a “one-click” tool without having to log in to Ads Manager.

More on the news

• Snap reports that its ads now reach more 13 to 34-year-olds than Instagram in the U.S. and, per its latest earnings report, has more daily active users than Twitter (Snap reported 190 million global daily active users while Twitter reported 134 million global mDAUs (monetized daily active users).
• Snap saw a 39% year-over-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2019, bringing in $320 million.
• On Thursday, Snap announced it had hired its first CMO Kenny Mitchell, a former VP of marketing for McDonald’s.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.