Posted inMarketing, Sandbox

Sandbox 172: Locally Sourced Playlists

Lead: As streaming playlists have created their own centre of gravity around breaking new acts and tracks, there are mounting criticisms that this same centre of gravity benefits only acts from a handful of already-dominant nations. Just how international are playlists? And how can acts – and genres – from smaller markets gatecrash them to get […]

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Instagram Stories may be biting into Snapchat Stories

Instagram’s ‘Stories’ feature was an unashamed copy of Snapchat’s feature of the same name: providing rolling 24-hour snapshots of people’s photos and videos.

Instagram’s version caught on quickly to the tune of 150 million active users, and now there’s anecdotal evidence that it may be hurting Snapchat.

TechCrunch claimed yesterday that a dozen “analytics providers, social media celebrities, and talent managers” had told it that they have seen a decline in Snapchat Stories usage since Instagram’s version launched in early August.

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Snapchat targets nine-figure ad deals ahead of IPO

Snapchat is on a big push to boost its advertising revenues ahead of its imminent IPO, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Its report claimed that Snap, Inc “is in talks with the media-buying arms of several big advertising companies, including WPP PLC, Omnicom Group Inc., Publicis Groupe SA, and Interpublic Group of Cos., and is seeking ad-spending commitments of $100 million to $200 million for 2017 from each firm”.

It would be no mean feat if it succeeds: according to the WSJ, this would be “roughly double or triple” these agencies’ Snapchat spends from 2016. Research firm eMarketer recently claimed that Snapchat’s overall ad revenues in 2016 were around $367m.

Posted inMarketing, Sandbox

Sandbox 171 – The Rise Of Geofilters

Lead: When we asked digital marketers what their most effective tool of 2016 was, geofilters (especially those on Snapchat) came out on top. So to kick off 2017, we’re looking at exactly how and where they are being used as well as if they live up to the grand claims being made on their behalf. […]

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Snap IPO investors reportedly will not get voting power

More details are emerging about Snapchat parent Snap Inc’s plans for its forthcoming IPO. People buying shares in the company will be very much viewers rather than participants in its future strategy.

“Investors won’t get any voting power with shares purchased in Snap’s initial public offering,” claimed the Wall Street Journal overnight, citing sources familiar with the details of the IPO.

“That leaves key decisions, such as the makeup of the board, primarily to Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, co-founders of Snap, the owner of the disappearing-message app Snapchat. The two are expected to hold more than 70 per cent of the voting power despite owning roughly 45 per cent of the stock.”