In a bid to generate more revenue, Snapchat is gearing up to introduce a new advertising format dubbed "sponsored lenses" to monetize its recently-introduced Lenses feature.
Sponsored lenses will enable the addition of brand logos and/or taglines to a Lenses users' selfies.
The news states that the sponsored lens feature is expected to be made available to advertisers by the end of October this year. Snapchat will target the upcoming holiday season and look to take full advantage of Black Friday, Thanksgiving and Halloween through this kind of advertising format.
The service will debut during Halloween per the publication's sources as Snapchat attempts to sell its "sponsored lenses" to marketing mavens.
"Snapchat is preparing to launch a new advertising format that will allow brands to slip in to teenagers' selfies, as it hunts for ways to make money from its young audience," a report said.
The stickers for the advertising campaign will be designed by Snapchat and the animated lenses will be available alongside the regular alternatives.
So how much does Snapchat intend to charge publicists for using its complete user base for a day you wonder? A whopping $750,000 on peak days. However, running a sponsored lenses campaign on an off peak day - basically a day, which is not a holiday - will cost advertisers $450,000.
While the amount one needs to shell out for sponsored lenses may be high, keep in mind that an advertiser can potentially reach 100 million Snapchat users a day.
The start-up is of the opinion that using selfies for branding messages from advertisers is potentially an effective means of reaching the target audience. However, the catch is that the plan only works if a Snapchat user bites the bait of using the sponsored lenses feature. A strong possibility exists, that a user may completely ignore the lenses feature and bypass the option of putting a brand tagline or logo on their selfie.
However, Snapchat seems optimistic about the sponsored lenses' success and a spokesperson said that the feature would enable "Snapchatters to express themselves and connect with a brand in a really creative and dynamic way."
