NDM Story #9 Snapchat messaging app gets it's first ad... and it's very creepy

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/20/snapchat-messaging-app-ad-creepy-ouija

Snapchat reportedly has more than 100 million active users of its free photo and video messaging app, but it has never made any money from them. Now it’s hoping to change that by running adverts within the app. The first one appeared inside the app’s Recent Updates screen for American users over the weekend: a 20-second trailer for horror film Ouija, paid for by studio Universal Pictures.

A Snapchat blog explained that “the best advertisements tell you more about stuff that actually interests you. Some companies spend a lot of time and collect a lot of data about you to figure that out. 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. It goes away after you view it or within 24 hours, just like Stories.'' They also stated that ''neither Snapchat nor Universal said how much the latter is paying for the ad, although Universal’s executive vice president of marketing Doug Neil.'' He stated ''we like to select media platforms that are appropriate for our audience. We’ve been closely following Snapchat and its adoption. It seems to be right in the core of our target audience for the movie Ouija,”

• In August that Snapchat had more than 100m monthly active users, with around two thirds of them using it every day.
• The company was valued at $10bn in its last funding round, despite its lack of revenues. 
• It famously turned down a $3bn acquisition offer from Facebook in 2013 in favour of remaining independent.
• In August, research firmcomScore claimed that 32.9% of 18-34 year-olds in the US were using the app, but this was closer to 50% for 18-24 year-olds.

In my opinion, I think it is a good thing that Snapchat users can have the privilege to decide whether they want to view the advertisement or not. Most ads such as ones on YouTube do not always gives audiences the chance to skip the advert, and if it does it is within a few seconds of watching so audiences are forced to gain attention from the advert first. Moreover, like Snapchat stories the ad disappears after 24 hours therefore if users come across it within the period of time they can watch it. This may be beneficial for Snapchat and the ad company as it could create word of moth advertising. For example, the exciting Ouija trailer may be watched by someone then they may tell their friends/family members who are also Snaophat users to view it also.