US Internet ad spend continues to grow and engulf TV. Figures below from eMarketer predict mobile spend will match TV spend by next year.
That being said, most of the gains have gone to two pillars of the Internet: Google and Facebook.
Google, owns what can be only described, as the gateway to the rest of Internet, capturing intent for almost every user online. Facebook, on the other hand, has consistently improved its mobile experience, monetizing it’s news feed through tools such as sponsored content and improved video along the way.
However, there is another competitor rising - Snapchat! Growing to 110M daily active users by the end of 2015, and now rumored to be at 160M daily active users, Snapchat seems poised to be taking video advertising by storm.
While Snapchat started as a temporary image messaging app, it has tackled video head-on with three features with powerful potential: Discover, Stories and Filters. Each feature has enabled a user to engage with followers and fellow users in a very pointed manner. Snapchat’s daily video views seem be growing at an unprecedented exponential rate, even surpassing Facebook!
It has also had the opportunity to run some very successful campaigns for brands such as Taco Bell, producing 224M views for its May 2016 campaign. At the same time, the company isn’t afraid to push the tech barrier and is hellbent on producing innovative products — Spectacles being the next in line. It's reportedly on track to do over $300M in revenue this year, and over $1B by 2017 [Source].
Though it’s early days, I believe Snapchat has the potential to become a true third pillar in the online ecosystem, being another category killer for TV spend in the US.