Snapchat’s users are growing up—and its advertisers might, too

Think Snapchat is just for kids? Think again.

Close to 25% of Snapchat users are 35 or older, Patrick Harris, Snap’s president of the Americas, said in a YouTube video about the company’s ad platform. That could end up being a draw for advertisers looking to target adults.

“Gen Z[is]…an incredibly important audience,” Harris told Marketing Brew. “At the same time, as we continue to age up, being able to talk to categories of advertisers in the automotive segment or in certain CPG categories [provides]…a lot more opportunities.”

Snapchat’s evolving brand positioning comes amid a new ad campaign promoting the platform as being different from other social media apps, and it comes amid a series of new ad features designed to court advertisers after several challenging quarters. The company also debuted new and improved Dynamic Ads, generative AI and AR tools, and other ad features for advertisers and brands.

Red, white, and blue: More advanced targeting options are soon coming to Snapchat, including state-level targeting on its First Story offering, Darshan Kantak, SVP of revenue product at Snap, said in the video. Another new feature catered to advertisers lets Snapchatters install apps with fewer taps without leaving the Snapchat app.

The platform has also overhauled its Dynamic Ads offering, including a new four-tile layout that will debut this year. “As we continue to look at…the Dynamic Ad format, we’re going to start offering it now for retailers and e-commerce advertisers,” Harris told us.

Snap is working on growing its advertiser base as its user base continues to grow. According to the company’s most recent earnings, the platform saw 85% YoY growth in its small and medium advertiser base in Q1, and it most recently reported 422 million daily active users.

Getting technical: AR ads have long been a feature on Snapchat, and the platform will now give advertisers the ability to purchase all-day takeovers of its lens carousel in a feature debuting this summer, Kantak said. The company will also integrate some generative AI into its AR features to help create AR ads.

In the weeds: The platform introduced more granular modifications to its ad offerings, too, including an improved version of its Conversions API and a partnership with the customer data platform Tealium, Kantak said. Snapchat has also integrated with CRM partners for lead generation for advertisers, and debuted a Landing Page View optimization goal and new bidding capabilities, Kantak said.