Original Shows Within Social Media: The Newest Trend Millennials Have Ignited

July 19, 2017
By Communiqué PR staff

As an avid social media user and communications student, I was intrigued by Time Warner and Snap’s June 19 announcement to bring shows from Time Warner brands to Snapchat users. According to the press release, “Under this new agreement, Time Warner will make a significant commitment to develop and produce shows for Snapchat from across its network and entertainment companies. These new shows will encompass a range of genres, including scripted drama and comedy.”

As I read about this deal, I began to wonder about the partnership’s potential impact on communicators and PR professionals. Communication managers are increasingly challenged by fragmentation. It used to be that nearly everyone relied on television, radio, newspapers and movies for entertainment and information.

With the rise of the internet and social media, the choices for entertainment are now vast. Consumers can stream programs and movies on Netflix, AppleTV or Roku, or they can spend countless hours on social media. Now, social media is on the cusp of evolving as rapidly as Facebook and Twitter, and Snap look to make a variety of new programs available to users. With this in mind, I decided to take a more in-depth look at Snap and answer some basic questions about its plans with Time Warner.

What content does Snap offer now? What is coming in the future?

Currently, Snap has three shows that air on Snapchat once per week. The different types of programming include: the reality show “Phone Swap”; “The Voice on Snapchat,” a behind-the-scenes show; and “The Rundown,” which features pop culture news.

According to the New York Post, by the end of 2017, Snap hopes to make at least 10 shows available. These will consist of drama, comedy and reality content, along with an animated series.

Why does Time Warner and Snap want to make this content available on Snapchat?

Time Warner wants to drive larger audiences to its shows, and increasingly younger people are forgoing subscriptions to cable. Known as cord-cutters, these people prefer streaming content online, and now want to consume this content on their mobile phones or tablets. Time Warner wants to reach these people, and with more than 166 million daily Snapchat users, Snap has the platform.

How is Snapchat differentiating itself from the competition?

Snap values the idea of keeping ads and videos vertical, which matches the format of its Snapchat platform. Snap concluded that many people who use other social media platforms dislike how ads are automatically formatted to play horizontally. Another unique feature of Snapchat is that users can swipe up while an ad is playing to either download the advertising company’s app, or to be directed to the advertiser’s website.

Finally, Snap has done its part on delivering a wide variety of consumer-friendly features to its users. Snapchat Geofilters and Snapchat Lens are global phenomena. Companies from all around the world are buying these Geofilters and Lenses to get consumers to interact with their brands in a new and unique way.

Geofilters, according to Snap, ”allow you to be where your product is bought, thought about, or consumed.” Geofilters generally provide consumers with the name of the advertiser, and the location of where the filter is available. Some of the more popular Geofilters are the ones that include an iconic city name, or iconic brand name.

Snapchat also offers Lens (or Lenses, plural), which Snapchat claims “[are] the most playful and memorable way to increase awareness, on a massive scale.” This feature is much more interactive and made for a more general market with little geographical constraints. Anytime a new Lens is available for use, it is can be available to millions of Snapchat users. If brands use Lens effectively, their promotions can go viral and generate awareness with audiences that may not have been thinking of them.

One of the most popular campaigns using a Snapchat Lens was Taco Bell’s “Cinco de Mayo Snapchat Lens.” This broke Snapchat’s previous record for most viewed campaign. In just one day, over 224 million people had used the Lens, which trumped the previous record held by Gatorade, at 165 million views.

What type of editorial coverage did the Snap Time Warner announcement receive?

There was significant news coverage of the announcement between Snap and Time Warner. According to my analysis, more than 90 articles were published about the deal between June 19 and June 26. Many of the major publications, including New York Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and CNBC to name a few, published articles about the deal and its potential impact on businesses and consumers.

Below is a small sample of some of the articles published:

For additional articles on Snap and Snapchat, please see these Communiqué PR articles.