Examples, Case Studies, & Inspiration From Other Businesses Using Snapchat Effectively - Toyota (via World-renowned Saatchi & Saatchi LA Agency)

While Snapchat is a platform with a lot of potential, let’s back that up by taking a look at how real businesses of all sizes are using the platform currently, along with examples of their content and strategy.

I used Help A Reporter Out (or HARO, an excellent journalism and PR tool I’ll do an entire post on in the future) to get in touch with three different companies who were currently using Snapchat.  Let’s have a look at what they’re up to:

Toyota (via World-renowned Saatchi & Saatchi LA Agency)

It’s not just small and mid-sized businesses that have found value in migrating to Snapchat; increasingly, some of the world’s largest brands – and the advertising and PR agencies which service them – have seen the hyper-engaged, 18-24 year-old Snapchat demographic as a power audience to get themselves in front of.

I was fortunate enough to get to speak with Candice Dorsey, Public Relations Supervisor at Saatchi & Saatchi Las Angeles, about the Snapchat work they’ve been doing with one of the world’s biggest brands, Toyota.

Unlike our previous two cases, Saatchi and Toyota went for a more calculated, higher-budget, higher-polish approach.  In a “first-to-market” move from an automotive manufacturer, Toyota sponsored Snapchat’s Live Local Story in LA, one of the two cities it was available in at the time.

Live Local Stories are curated content which Snapchat picks out from local snappers in the area and then turns into a stream that other users can view to see what’s going on in the area.  They’re fun, they’re themed, and Toyota was able to intersperse the Live Local Story with imagery and inspiration surrounding their Camry and Corolla lines.

Candice added that the fit was particularly good not only because of the target demographic of the vehicles featured in the campaign, but because Toyota’s recent broadcast spot had been shot in LA, allowing for a touch of authenticity.

Of course, I was also made aware that there were cons to such a move as well: being first-to-market in any space might be an opportunity for a huge payoff, but it also means little infrastructure for forming expectations and also for tracking and analytics of how effective interaction was after a campaign has ended.

Of course, this is an element of risk every Snapchat user has to accept, from the biggest down to the smallest:  While the new platform has enormous opportunity, best practices aren’t necessarily formulated yet, and there’s no one ‘tried and true’ way to come out on top.

While you may not have the budget for Snapchat’s ad products just yet – by most accounts, they’re still up in the 5 and largely 6 digit range – the implication of such a large company putting in the time, resources, and creative budget to work with the platform is that we’re well into the year of Snapchat’s mainstream debut.

Here are a few screengrabs from their video spots that appeared within the Local Live Story for LA. Note:  If I manage to get a hold of one of the videos, I’ll upload it here ASAP.

“The fact that one of the world’s biggest brands is investing in Snapchat creative says a lot. –