Snapchat Will Be Rolling Out Disappearing Ads to Generate Revenue

Starting this weekend, Snapchat will be displaying in-app ads in the “Recent Updates” section of its users’ accounts in the United States. Snapchat’s disappearing ads don’t stay on a user’s app for too long; it lasts only 24 hours and goes away once viewed. “The product we’re releasing today is a lot simpler. An advertisement will appear in your Recent Updates from time to time, and you can choose if you want to watch it. No biggie,” as announced today in Snapchat’s blog.

CEO Evan Spiegel has already stated that the ads will not target individual users based on their interests. Moreover, Snapchat will not interrupt personal communication (such as Snaps and chats) with these ads because “that [would] be totally rude.”

“We want to see if we can deliver an experience that’s fun and informative, the way ads used to be, before they got creepy and targeted. It’s nice when all of the brilliant creative minds out there get our attention with terrific content,” stated the announcement.

This would mark the first time Snapchat has identified a source of revenue, just three years after its launch. Getting paid for its content is a “little weird at first” but the ephemeral app is doing it anyway to provide better service to its estimated 100 million monthly active users.

Aside from the need for funds, Spiegel also aimed to prove Snapchat’s $10 billion valuation to investors, which was previously reported last week at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit. Snapchat has received offers that Spiegel has turned down—including Facebook’s much talked about $3 billion offer and Google’s rumored $4 billion offer, both in November 2013.

Big brands like Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Audi, General Electric, and GrubHub have been using Snapchat as a platform for free advertising. With the launch of the disappearing ads, it will now be challenging for advertisers to create paid and non-targeted campaigns within the app.

What do you think of Snapchat’s non-targeted disappearing ads? Will this be a challenge for social media advertisers? Let us know your opinion in the Comments section below!

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