Snapchat’s Sponsored Snaps aim to place ads inside Chat inboxes, offering brands like AJIO and Instamart a native way to engage Gen Z through conversational, non-intrusive marketing.
Snapchat says the ROI from Sponsored Snaps isn’t just awareness—it’s downstream conversion. (Source: financialexpress)
Let’s be honest, most ads these days are either yelling at you from a billboard or stalking you around the internet like an overenthusiastic ex. But what if an ad just dropped into your chat like a friend? Not in a creepy way, but with the same ease and tone you would expect from someone sliding into your DMs with a meme or a sale alert. That’s what Snapchat’s betting on with Sponsored Snaps—a quietly powerful new ad format that lives in, of all places, your Chat inbox.
Yes, the place where Gen Z is most active—swapping streaks, reacting with Bitmojis, and planning late-night ramen cravings—is now ad territory. But the play here isn’t brute-force visibility. It’s native presence.
“Sponsored Snaps allow brands to show up in Snapchatters’ Chat inbox, a space where users are highly active and conversations are already happening,” Neha Jolly Sawhney, Head of Ad Revenue, India at Snap Inc., told BrandWagon Online. “This format delivers full-screen, vertical video in a personal and immersive environment… capturing attention in an impactful manner.”
“Platforms like Snapchat, especially formats like Sponsored Snaps, are becoming increasingly relevant for us,” says Abhinav Narayan, Head of Brand Marketing at AJIO, and one of the first to adopt this form at. “These ads allow us to engage Gen Z shoppers in a way that feels natural and conversational, directly within a space they’re active in.”
Remember when banner ads were all the rage, then came video, then influencer collabs, and now we are in the age of presence. Not presence like an expensive media buy—but presence like showing up in the right room, at the right time, with the right tone.
That’s what Snapchat is trying to deliver. It’s not just about reach anymore. It's about being relevant without being intrusive—something traditional formats haven’t quite figured out.
“Beyond upper-funnel visibility, this format drives meaningful engagement and action through built-in calls-to-action,” says Sawhney. “It’s an effective solution across the marketing funnel.”
Early adopters include Hindustan Unilever, Apple, Amazon, and Swiggy Instamart—a mix of global heavyweights and homegrown digital hustlers.
And if you are wondering what kind of money you need to get in the chat game, Snap’s playing it close to the vest. But the real hook isn’t cost—it’s culture.
Let’s get something straight: Gen Z isn’t anti-ad. They are anti-awkward interruptions. Show up right, and they will not only watch—they will click, engage, share, and even shop.
Sponsored Snaps are engineered for exactly that.
Instamart, Swiggy’s express delivery arm, is leaning in hard.
“Snapchat has become a significant part of our media budget,” says a Swiggy Instamart spokesperson. “It aligns well with our target audience, particularly younger, tech-savvy consumers.”
“We aim to educate audiences about the convenience and speed of our service, highlighting unique selling points like 10-minute delivery,” the spokesperson adds. “These ads also serve as an entry point into our funnel… driving traffic directly to our app or website.”
Here’s the kicker: Snapchat isn’t trying to be everything for everyone. It’s going all-in on chat. And that’s where it wins.
Short answer? If it works, yes.
Snapchat says the ROI from Sponsored Snaps isn’t just awareness—it’s downstream conversion.
“Measuring ROI from conversational formats is a mix of both performance and engagement metrics,” AJIO’s Narayan explains. “The quality of interaction and downstream impact on purchase intent often make these formats more effective for certain objectives.”
Even Instamart is balancing its performance spends between intent-heavy search and these new-age immersive formats.
“While search remains a cornerstone for capturing intent-driven traffic,” the Swiggy Instamart spokesperson says, “platforms like Snapchat allow us to build brand engagement and reach audiences in a more interactive manner.”
That’s not just budget-speak. It’s a signal that performance channels are no longer a monopoly. Brand equity now builds through conversation, not just clicks.
Snapchat isn’t stopping at video ads in chats. It’s already working on future iterations that will make Sponsored Snaps smarter and more responsive.
“Snapchatters who reply to Sponsored Snaps will receive automated messages from brands,” says Sawhney. “Over time, the feature may evolve to include two-way interactions powered by AI—personalised recommendations, customer support, even direct transactions.”
If you’re sensing a quiet arms race between messaging platforms and AI-powered commerce, you're not wrong.
Here’s the thing: marketing’s next big frontier isn’t louder storytelling. It’s smarter whispering—being where the consumer is, speaking their language, and sometimes, just sending a message that doesn’t feel like marketing at all.
And if that happens to be in a Snapchat chat? So be it.
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