Taco Bell Smashes Snapchat Records
On 5th May 2016 as part of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, the fast food chain Taco Bell broke a Snapchat record with a sponsored selfie lens that transformed Snapchat users heads into a taco with sauce drizzled over them.
Snapchat, for the uninitiated, is a messaging app that allows photo, video and text messaging and videos last for less than 10 seconds, cannot be saved, and every message self-destructs within minutes.
Taco Bell and Snapchat co-managed a campaign in which Taco Bell sponsored a lens that was live for just one day, costing them around $750,000 (£516,000) which received a staggering 224,000,000 views in just 24 hours, proving the doubters that Snapchat is an effective global marketing tool and not just a fun social messaging app.
Snapchat calculated that in terms of play – use by individual users – approximately 12.5 years worth of play was carried out on the Taco Bell lens during the mere 24 hours that it was live.
The lens took six weeks to create in-house, without outsourcing to an agency, according to Ryan Rimsnider, senior management at Taco Bell for social media, as he’d had the idea for a while and had been waiting for the opportunity to use it. Kids and teenagers loved it, although some adults we apparently spooked by the ghostly bulging eyes peering out from a crispy taco shell with flaming eyebrows and a facial expression to match the user’s, be it a smile or sad face.
Today only: turn yourself into a taco using our @Snapchat lens. Because Cinco de Mayo. pic.twitter.com/P4KwLdFNFZ
— Taco Bell (@tacobell) May 5, 2016
The selfie lens had the same allure as a horror movie; even if you were uncomfortable you couldn’t look away! The signature Taco Bell bong completed the experience.
Taco Bell is no stranger to using Snapchat for their social media marketing campaigns and new product launches, the firm’s management appreciates that focusing on potential customers via a fun and interactive social media platform is a viable marketing tool for them. The 5th May’s 224,000,000 views consolidate their view that a punchy visual effect is the perfect strategy for their marketing goals.
Snapchat is proud to boast over 100 million daily active users and growing, according to their internal data, at stat supported by the faith provided in the wealth of early investors who believed in the platform valuing it at $19 billion.
Check out our last Snapchat blog post, on 20 Snapchat Stats you NEED to know! Need help with your Snapchat marketing strategy? Get in touch here and we’d be more than happy to help.
By Chris Kyriacou
@MrChrisKyriacou
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