Content to commerce: how to be present in every moment this shopping season

Advertisers focused on performance who can meet these demands will be best placed to click with them during the festive shopping season. By increasing discoverability, owning moments and building momentum, advertisers can turn content into commerce and multiply performance.

In a new four-part video series, The Drum’s assistant editor Jenni Baker sat down with experts from Snap who shared insights and advice to set performance advertisers up for a festive season like no other; a chance to multiply performance by meeting consumers in the moments that matter.

Episode 1

With economic headwinds in play and privacy changes fundamentally changing the digital landscape, Sam Bevan, EMEA director of emerging at Snap lays the foundations for the future of shopping through a new lens. He explores the opportunity for advertisers to double down and go back to basics to reach audiences more effectively and capitalize on shifting consumer behaviors.

“There are challenging circumstances for businesses of all shapes and sizes, but this creates a huge opportunity to grow your voice on platforms and scale because it’s a more competitive and cost-effective way of reaching your core audience,” he says.

“It’s almost like going back to the new basics to make sure you have the foundations in place. There’s going to be more ability to reach audiences at a much more effective rate. Now is the time to grow your voice on platforms to capitalize on the share that you typically wouldn’t have been able to in the past. Start testing new solutions – innovation must be at the heart now.”

Episode 2

With advertisers competing for every pound, every moment matters and is a chance to convert. Fintan Gillespie, head of UK enterprise business solutions at Snap gives viewers a deep dive into Snapchat’s exclusive audience. He reveals what’s influencing their purchasing decisions and explores how advertisers can differentiate their shopping strategy with augmented reality.

“One of the misconceptions about Snap is that our audience can be found elsewhere – but that’s not the case,” he explains. “Augmented reality is a core part of the experience for our users and we have so much scale in AR from an advertising point of view – users exposed to AR try on during the purchase journey have a 94% higher conversion rate.

“We’ve talked a long time in the industry about the evolution from banners to landscape videos to vertical videos and we believe the next evolution is augmented reality. That future is now and there’s no better time to start experimenting for that future than during this holiday period.”

Episode 3

Armed with the insights from part one and part two of this series, Toccara Baker, product marketing EMEA at Snap takes viewers on a journey into the world of Snapchat to understand the wide range of e-commerce capabilities. She also breaks down the four pillars of Snap (Create, Distribute, Promote, Measure) to show how each can help advertisers cut through.

“For advertisers, there are numerous opportunities within the camera and within our content to really speak to and reach Snapchatters with visual communication using a strong multi-product strategy to tell a story,” she says. “It’s all about bringing them in to understand the brand and get excited while also driving down to purchase, which is important for the festive shopping season.”

“AR is a big differentiator for advertisers to really focus on an experience-driven investment and camera formats really allow for that,” she adds. “Look at what other e-commerce investments you’re making with various formats, identify the products you want to promote and then augment those products to use in a shoppable ad. This is a great way for advertisers to truly differentiate themselves while also taking advantage of a habit already on our platform.”

Episode 4

In the final part of this series, Shivani Singh, analytics manager at Snap looks at the importance of building momentum beyond the festive shopping season. She reveals insights on key shopping moments, why October is the best (and cheapest) time for testing, the importance of the long-term play, and best practice principles.

“The tentpole events in the shopping season have changed,” she says. “It’s no longer about working towards a singular moment or gaining that impression, but about maintaining consistent engagement and interaction with audiences. A lot of advertisers tend to go wrong because they put too much effort and focus into key moments in Q4, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But that’s not how shoppers shop anymore.

“Snapchatters are constantly engaging with the app, so don’t stop momentum when the shopping season ends and take advantage of New Year’s where more than eight in 10 shoppers hope to take advantage of sales.”