Snapchat Discover is a feature within the Snapchat app that allows users to view content from various media publishers. It launched in 2015 with 11 participants and now has over 20 media companies and local stories. Discover content refreshes every 24 hours and attracts 500,000-1 million ad views per day, generating $750,000 in daily ad revenue. BuzzFeed has its own Discover page that simplifies its online content for Snapchat users and forces viewers to see ads. Snapchat Discover has been successful due to appealing to short attention spans, going viral potential, and keeping up with trends.

1. Media Landscape
Analysis
Snapchat Discover
Briana Rinaldo, Carly Kaplin, Biko Skalla, Jonathan Gordon

2. What is Snapchat Discover?
“...a new way to explore Stories from different
editorial teams. It’s the result of collaboration with
world-class leaders in media to build a storytelling
format that puts the narrative first.” (Snapchat, 2015)
• Began with 11 participants (Vaynerchuk, 2016)
• 20+ participants today
• Refreshes every 24 hours
@bririnaldo, 2016

3. Is it working?
Why would Snapchat do this in the first place?
• Appeals to “short attention spans”
• Greater opportunity to go viral
• Multiple screens
• Keeping up with trends
(Wikipedia, 2015)

4. Success
• 20+ media companies, plus “local”
stories
• 500,000 - 1 million Ad views/day
(Shontell, 2015)
• $750,000/day to place Ads on stories
(Dave & Pierson, 2015)
• Opened the door for Geofilter Ads
(Shontell, 2015)
(Wikipedia, 2015)

5. How people are actually using it?
Advertising
• 20+ publications - ads within articles
• Sponsored Geofilters and lenses
o Chipotle
o Asos
o Taco Bell
• Swipe-up rate is 5x higher than ads on comparable (Snapchat, n.d.)
Is Discover disruptive?
• For users?
• For competitors?
o Twitter, Instagram, etc. (Snapchat, n.d.)

6. How people are actually using it?
Cross-platform sharing
• Within app: sending as Snapchats to friends
• No real ability to share outside of Snapchat
• Weakness: go to the source of the article? No credit for Snapchat

7. Has BuzzFeed Adopted It?
Of course!
● BuzzFeed has it’s
own Discover page
showcasing some of
their favorite posts
from their website,
but catered to
SnapChat viewers.
@BikoRicoSuave

8. Comparing BuzzFeed’s Snapchat Discover to BuzzFeed.com
BuzzFeed’s Discover
page shows a much
simpler version of their
online content.
There are no links on the
side to jump to different
BuzzFeed articles.
@BikoRicoSuave
(BuzzFeed, n.d.)

9. Advertisements on BuzzFeed.com vs BuzzFeed Discover
BuzzFeed’s
advertisements also
differ from the
website to the
Discover page.
You are forced to
see at least the start
of the ad on
Discover. @BikoRicoSuave(BuzzFeed, n.d.)

10. Growth and Future Potential
• Remains independent (worth almost $20 billion) (Hartung, 2016)
• Unlike other platforms, not shareable
• Shook a bad reputation
• Imitators can’t compete
(Vaynerchuk, 2016)

11. Growth and Future Potential
• Initial involvement of timeless titles
o National Geographic, People, ESPN, etc. (Snapchat, 2015)
• Content always relevant and on rotation
• Added new names from various genres and fields
o Vogue, Mashable, MTv, Tastemade (Yotka, 2016)
• Recently eliminated local stories, focus on live
events (Kastrenakes, 2016)
• Staying power via popularity and more potential
for advertising
• New way to gain news, updates and insights
o NYFW, Presidential Debates, breaking news
(Chowdhry, 2015) (Constine, 2016)
(Constine, 2016)

12. Citation
BuzzFeed. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2016, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/
Dave, P., & Pierson, D. (2015). Cheap content, growing reach make Snapchat a fast-rising star. Retrieved September 09, 2016,
from http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-snapchat-new-business-20150417-story.html#page=1
Chowdhry, A. (2015). Snapchat's New 'Discover' Feature Has Content From ESPN, CNN, Food Network And Others. Retrieved
September 11, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2015/01/28/snapchat-discover/#2369f01354fc
Constine, J. (2016). Snapchat uncovers Discover. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from
https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/07/snapchat-discover-previews/
Hartung, A. (2016). Why Is Snapchat Worth $20B? The Value Of Implementing Trends. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2016/05/27/why-is-snapchat-worth-20b-the-value-of-implementing-trends/#1f82da6e53fa
Kastrenakes, J. (2016). Snapchat ends local Stories to focus on live events. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from
http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/7/12830618/snapchat-ends-local-stories-for-cities

13. Citation
Shontell, A. (2015). Advertisers are supposedly paying insanely high rates to get their ads on Snapchat. Retrieved September
09, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-discover-ad-rates-2015-3
Snapchat (2015). Introducing Discover. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from http://snapchat-
blog.com/post/109302961090/introducing-discover
Snapchat (n.d.). Success Stories. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from https://www.snapchat.com/ads
Team, P. M. (2016). Snapchat Gives Stories, Discover a New Look. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from
http://me.pcmag.com/software-reviews-6/7774/news/snapchat-gives-stories-discover-a-new-look
Vaynerchuk, G. (2016). The Snap Generation: A Guide to Snapchat's History. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-vaynerchuk/the-snap-generation-a-gui_b_9103216.html
Wikipedia Commons. (2015). File:Snapchat-large.jpeg. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snapchat-large.jpg
Yotka, S. (2016). Vogue Is Now on Snapchat Discover! Retrieved September 11, 2016, from
http://www.vogue.com/13472731/vogue-snapchat-discover/