If you’re under 25 and own a smartphone, you’ve likely spent too much time primping and posing with Snapchat lenses. If you have a mortgage, you may be asking yourself: What are Snapchat lenses?

They’re a rotating set of filters that alter your face in real-time. They’re pretty cool, and people seem to enjoy using them. When the lens store closed in January, about 10 million snaps with lenses were exchanged per day. That number has now risen to 30 million since the lenses became entirely free, according to a Snapchat spokesperson.

The lenses have also become a successful ad product for Snapchat. For example, Gatorade’s sponsored lens for the Super Bowl—the eponymous “Gatorade shower”—was reportedly used 165 million times in two days this February. Taco Bell’s Cinco de Mayo sponsored lens “was viewed 224 million times in 24 hours, and users played with the filter for about 24 precious millennial-world seconds, on average, before sending the photo,” according to The New York Times. Of course, those are the purest of vanity metrics, but there’s no denying the massive reach sponsored lenses can offer.

Despite the lack of hard ROI data, sponsored lenses are one of the most intriguing ad formats that have emerged in the platform war for ad money. Why? Because the format runs opposite to almost everything that defines modern digital advertising.

1. Scarcity
2. Choice
3. Intimacy
4. Privacy

Source: Searchenginejournal

Peter Zmijewski is the founder and CEO at KeywordSpy. His expert knowledge on Internet Marketing practices and techniques has earned him the title “Internet Marketing Guru“ He is also an innovator, investor and entrepreneur widely recognized by the top players in the industry.