EM Assignment 1-

Snapchat

SUBMITTED BY-
SHALU
ANKIT SINGH
B.F.Tech (Sem-6)
 SNAPCHAT: BRIEF SUMMARY

Snapchat is an image messaging and multimedia mobile application created

by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown, former students
at Stanford University, and developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc.
One of the principal concepts of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are only
available for a short time before they become inaccessible. The prototype for
Snapchat was started by Brown and Spiegel as a project for one of Spiegel's
classes at Stanford, where Spiegel was a product design major. Beginning as
"Picaboo", the idea was to create a selfie app (application) which allowed users to
share images that were explicitly short-lived and self-deleting. The temporary
nature of the pictures would therefore encourage frivolity and emphasize a more
natural flow of interaction. When, in April 2011, Spiegel floated the product idea
in front of his class as a final project, the classmates focused on the impermanent
aspect of the potential product, and balked at the thought of temporary
photos. Murphy was eventually brought into the project to write the source
code for the application, and Picaboo first launched as an iOS-only app in July 2011
from Evan Spiegel's living room (who was still staying at home with his father when
not away at school). The application was relaunched two months later under the
name Snapchat.

In May 2012, 25 images were being sent per second and, as of November 28,
2012, users had shared over one billion photos on the Snapchat iOS app, with 20
million photos being shared per day. In November 2012, Spiegel cited problems
with userbase scalability as the reason why Snapchat was experiencing some
difficulties delivering its images, known as "snaps", in real time. Snapchat was
released as an Android app on October 29, 2012.

In December 2012, Snapchat added the ability to send video snaps in addition to
photos. By holding down on the photo button while inside the app, a video of up to
10 seconds in length can be captured. After a single viewing, the video disappears
by default. Spiegel explained that this process allowed the video data to be
compressed into the size of a photo.

In June 2013, Snapchat version 5.0, dubbed "Banquo", was released for iOS. The
updated version introduced several speed and design enhancements, including
swipe navigation, double-tap to reply, an improved friend finder, and in-app
profiles. The name is a reference to the ghostly hero from Shakespeare's Macbeth,
a character in the play who is ultimately seen to be victorious over evil. Also in
June 2013, Snapchat introduced Snapkidz for users under 13 years of age.
Snapkidz was part of the original Snapchat application and was activated when the
user provided a date of birth to verify his/her age. Snapkidz allowed children to
take snaps and draw on them, but they could not send snaps to other users and
could only save snaps locally on the device being used.
 In October 2013, Snapchat introduced the "My Story" feature, which allows users
to compile snaps into chronological storylines, accessible to all of their friends. On
May 1, 2014, the ability to communicate via video chat was added. Direct
messaging features were also included in the update, allowing users to
send ephemeral text messages to friends and family while saving any needed
information by clicking on it.

According to Snapchat's published statistics, as of May 2015, the app's users were
sending 2 billion videos per day, reaching 6 billion by November. By 2016,
Snapchat had hit 10 billion daily video views. In May 2016, Snapchat raised $1.81
billion in equity offering, suggesting strong investor interest in the company. By
May 31, 2016, the app had almost 10 million daily active users in the United
Kingdom. By the end of 2016, the app had over 156 million users worldwide.

In September 2016, Snapchat Inc. was rebranded as Snap Inc., along with the
introduction of the company's first hardware gadget, Spectacles, a pair
of smartglasses with a built-in camera that can record 10 seconds of video at a
time.

Snapchat evolved into a mix of private messaging and public content, including
brand networks, publications, and live events such as sports and music.
Nevertheless, according to survey studies conducted in March 2016, the personal
oriented messaging was still being accessed by users more than the publicly
offered content that was being presented. 71% of users surveyed said that they
preferred the app for its chat, messaging, and imaging services, versus 5% who
almost exclusively chose the various events, published features, and media
content on a daily basis. 24% responded that they accessed all features equally.
However, about three quarters of those surveyed were also familiar with the
events, media brands, and celebrity content, having a favorable opinion of those
areas.

INTRODUCTION

ORIGINAL AUTHOR(S) : Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy,

Reggie Brown
DEVELOPER(S) : Snap Inc.
INITIAL RELEASE : September 2011; 6 years ago
STABLE RELEASE : 9.34.2
DEVELOPMENT STATUS : Active
OPERATING SYSTEM : iOS, Android App icon seen on
SIZE : 95.7 MB (iOS), 76 MB (Android)IOS and Android
AVAILABLE IN : 20 languages
 TYPE : Photo sharing, instant messaging, Video chat,
Multimedia
LICENSE : Proprietary software
ALEXA RANK : 2,754 (August 2016)
WEBSITE : snapchat.com

Founders:

Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO, and Bobby Murphy, co-

founder and CTO
TIMELINE:

Time Development
More details
period summary

April 2011 Snapchat is conceived of by Stanford graduate

Conception and
December students. Initial versions are launched and an initial
initial launch
2012 userbase is obtained.

Snapchat raises funds in three rounds (Series A: $13.5

million, Series B: $80 million, and Series C: $50
December Product build- million). The userbase grows significantly, with the
2012 out, userbase number of daily snaps sent growing to 400 million by
November acquisition, November 2013. Key features are added to the
2014 funding product, including video sharing, Snapchat Stories,
and ephemeral text messaging. Some initial
announcements are made regarding monetization.
 Snapchat raises large funding rounds (Series D: $485
million, Series E: at least $200 million but possibly up
to $500 million, and Series F: $1.8 billion). Since
Snapchat raises money more continuously, it is hard to
pinpoint a specific funding round, creating some
confusion for reporting. With the additional funds,
Aggressive
December Snapchat aggressively improves the product, with
fundraising,
2014 changes such as Chat 2.0, the introduction of stickers,
focus on video,
August and new monetization strategies. Daily video views
more product
2016 grow from 2 billion in May 2015 to 6 billion in
iterations
November 2015 and 10 billion in April 2016. Note,
however, that unlike Facebook, that counts a view only
after at least three seconds on it (and YouTube, which
follows a more restrictive definition), Snapchat counts
a view as soon as the video start playing, making its
numbers hard to compare with Facebook.

September Rebranding and The company rebrands itself from "Snapchat Inc." to
2016 preparation for "Snap Inc." and unveils the Spectacles. It also prepares
present IPO for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2017.
Prototype:
According to documents and deposition statements, Reggie Brown brought the idea for a
disappearing pictures application to Evan Spiegel because Spiegel had prior business
experience. Brown and Spiegel then pulled in Bobby Murphy, who had experience
coding. The three worked closely together for several months, straight through the initial
product release, until Spiegel and Murphy decided to deny Brown further access a few
weeks before relaunching the app as Snapchat.

Early on, the Snapchat team focused on usability and technical aspects, rather than
branding efforts. An exception was the decision to keep a mascot designed by Brown,
"Ghostface Chillah", named after Ghostface Killah of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang
Clan. The project eventually formed the app's parent company, Snapchat Inc, in
September 2011.

On May 8, 2012, Reggie Brown sent an email to Evan Spiegel during their senior year at
Stanford in which he offered to re-negotiate his equitable share regarding ownership of
the company. Lawyers for Snapchat responded by insisting that he had never had any
creative connection to the product. The attorneys also accused Brown of
committing fraud against Spiegel and Murphy by falsely claiming to be a product
inventor. On behalf of their clients, the law firm concluded that Reggie Brown had made
no contributions of value or worth, and was therefore entitled to a share of nothing. In
September 2014, Brown settled with Spiegel and Murphy for a confidential amount and
for getting credited as one of the original authors of Snapchat.

In their first blog post, dated May 9, 2012, CEO Evan Spiegel described the company's
mission: "Snapchat isn't about capturing the traditional Kodak moment. It's about
communicating with the full range of human emotionnot just what appears to be pretty
or perfect." They present Snapchat as the solution to stresses caused by the longevity of
personal information on social media, evidenced by "emergency detagging
of Facebook photos before job interviews and photoshopping blemishes out of candid
shots before they hit the internet".

What Makes Snapchat so Unique?

1. High levels of engagement: Unlike Twitter, Facebook or Instagram where your

post may get lost in a cluttered feed, most Snapchat users view all stories of those
accounts they follow. For example, our accounton averagehas an 80% open rate of
our stories (far greater than our reach on any other platform).

2. Its personalized : Sure, Twitter has DMs and now Facebook is even letting
Pages message people directly but theres something gratifying about opening a snap
from a brand or institution sent directly to you. Perhaps its the nature of the platform in
that most brands arent engaging directly with their followers, but we attempt to return
most snaps we receive.
3. Its fun : Okay, so, the nature of social media is that its supposed to be fun, right?
Snapchat takes it to the next level. You may be laughing at a hilarious drawing your artist
friend made on a selfie or saying awwwww when your sister sends a snap of your
childhood pet. Either way, its visual, interactive and downright addicting.
How Are We Using Snapchat in the Higher Ed Space?
#1: Provide Access to Live Events :

Snapchat is perfect for real-time social media

marketing because it can give the audience direct
access to live events. You can use it for product
launches, trade shows or one-of-a-kind events like
the 1,000th customer to shop in your store.
Snapchat gets your audience excited because youre
providing a different, more authentic view of whats
going on at the event.

The NBA has used Snapchat in a variety of ways

including at the Draft, All-Star Game and Finals. At
the 2014 All-Star Game, the NBA launched their presence on Snapchat, and fans were
able to watch videos from L.A. Clippers star Chris Paul, and up-close snaps of the Slam
Dunk Contest.

#2: Deliver Private Content

You can also use Snapchat to provide special content to your

audience that they might not receive on other digital platforms.
Think of something unique to surprise your community of
followers.

Fashion brands like Rebecca Minkoff and Michael Kors have

used Snapchat to debut their collections to followers before
they hit the runway.

#3: Offer Contests, Perks or Promotions

Everyone loves social media giveaways and promotions, so

think of ways you can keep your followers coming back for
more. For example, you could offer promo codes or discounts to
the fans who watch your entire Snapchat story, or ask them to
take a snap while holding your product.

#4: Take People Behind the Curtain

With Snapchat, you can provide behind-the-scenes content to your community, which
helps create and engage a strong following. Show off
your company and make sure to have fun with
it. Capture birthday parties, Friday afternoons or
company outings. The skys the limit on showing
how your brand differentiates itself with company
culture.
Fashion brand and startup Everlane excels at this, pulling back the curtain to educate
customers while producing enticing content. They use Snapchat stories to highlight
tours of offices, happy hours and manufacturing warehouses.

10 Reasons Why SnapChat Is a Success :

1. Increased usage of smartphones: The fact that almost all mobile phone users
are upgrading to smartphones is a huge factor that ensures the success of the
application. Pulling your phone out, taking a pic, and sending it via SnapChat is
very convenient.

2. Increased engagement: People prefer things that are graphic. Visual aids often
help create more engagement. There are multiple text-based systems that already
exist.

3. Decreased censorship: While some people are not too happy about this, it is
well-known, and much liked that the interface works in a way that allows you to
send pictures, and set a time limit to how long the recipient can see them for (1-10
seconds). This means that the app is great for sexting. Other apps do not allow
explicit content to pass through.

4. Maintained privacy of users: Many networking apps allow sites access to

searches and other personal data so that companies can optimize their advertising
by narrowing down their target groups. The self-destructing pictures that are sent
through SnapChat do not get stored on the recipients device, or on the apps
servers.

5. Changing consumer demands: SnapChat is unlike any other application that

has been developed until now. It differentiates itself in the mechanism through
which messages are sent across. The younger generation is not as excited
about Facebook as people have been until now. Though there are other sites
like Instagram that work in similar ways, the engagement level in SnapChat is far
higher.
 6. The new thing in the market: Due to its differentiating factors, SnapChat is now
being tried out by individuals of all age groups. Since it is one of the newest things
in the market, it is natural that there will be an initial excitement. However, the
developers of the app have done a great job in retaining the initial excitement.
Even though the app has been around for over two years, the number of people
using it continuously increases.

7. Increased accessibility: Thanks to the technological advancements with regard

to the mobile phone industry, people are able to communicate in various ways
through a single device. The applications simply give users different means of
communication. Mobile phones are always readily available.

8. Pictures speak louder than words: Most people process information best
through visual cues. Pictures often say much more than a simple status change or
text message.

9. Sharing moments as they come: The app makes sure you do not miss out on
sharing any moment with friends and family. Keep in touch whenever you feel like
doing so.

10. Safe means of communication: Today, there is an alarming rate of

identity theft and other problems regarding conventional social media and
networking sites. SnapChat is safe thanks to its timed self-destruct, leaving no
traces of an individuals identity on the servers it is connected to.

12 valuable marketing lessons from Snapchats success :

1. Start with a narrow audience : A small

and engaged group of people can
be very useful at the initial stage of your
platform, in order to examine what needs
to be adjusted, depending on the users
habits. There is no need to chase the
larger audience yet, or at least, until
youre confident that you can really make
a difference.
 2. Pick the right early adopters : Snapchats decision to focus on a young target
audience seemed to be among the reasons it skyrocketed its fame, as it managed
to win over the most demanding users.A brands early adopters are the influencers
that will affect its future, which means that if you pick the right ones, then you
already have an advantage from your competitors.

3. Spot a trend (the ephemerality of social media) :

Social media has been popular for the direct
communication and the instant reactions from users.
The increase of content in our feeds highlighted the
ephemerality of our posts, which were still available if
you searched for them though. Snapchat decided to
take the ephemerality of posts to the next level by
setting an expiry date to them, reminding us that if we
want to enjoy what our friends post, we need to visit
the platform daily.

4. Boost engagement with psychology : Snapchat

users spend an average of 25-30 minutes on the
platform every day and this impressive level of
engagement was created by blending the idea of
ephemerality and the right psychological triggers, in
order to keep the users coming.The fact that the posts
disappear after 24 hours makes users visit the platform
several times during the day, in order to beat the
dreadful social F.O.M.O (Fear Of Missing Out).This
creates a sense of urgency that is very effective as a way to boost the engagement
and I believe that Snapchats level of engagement will increase even more in the
next months.

5. Seize the mobile power ; As the mobile domination continues, so do the

chances of success when a product is launched in a mobile-focused approach.
Snapchat relied on the way we use our mobile devices to make instant
communication easier, while it encouraged us to curate real-time content as part
of the global stories, changing the idea of real time coverage. Thus it managed to:

use the mobile power

turn users into publishers
create a new type of live coverage

and what we can learn is that there is always the need to come up with new ideas to
create an appealing product, by analysing the current trends, but even predicting the
next ones.
 6. Think locally : Global success may come through focusing on the local element
and this also occurs to Snapchat and its decision to highlight all the local
stories that matter to users.

7. Disrupt communication : Snapchat was initially used as a private (and

ephemeral) method of communication, which was mostly relevant to teenagers
who couldnt stop using the fun platform. By the time it managed to win the most
demanding demographic in terms of communication, Snapchat knew that its ready
to think of bigger plans and come up with new ideas on how to attract a wider
audience.

8. Provide new creative directions : Snapchat succeeded in providing a new

creative direction, a more colourful and playful one that allowed both users and
brands to experiment with a more engaging visual content. In fact, it was more
challenging to persuade brands to adjust to the new type of content, as it looked
from the beginning more appealing for instant communication and fun posts,
rather than what we know as branded content.

9. Think of expansion: Snapchat

has reportedly acquired Bitstrips for $100 million, a
popular app that includes personal emojis, the so-
called bitmojis, which seem to fit perfectly to
Snapchats idea of fun snaps

10.Create effective advertising (the trend of

vertical videos) : Snapchat knew that its growth
plans cant be viable without an effective form of
advertising and the idea of vertical videos turned out
into its secret weapons for further growth, as it
created a new trend in content.

11.Showcase brand opportunities :

Brands were cautious at first to join
Snapchat and once they did, many of them were unsure whether
it could be part of their marketing strategy.

12. Stay fun (but effective) : Yes, Snapchat still manages to

maintain a balanced focus between users and brands (even favouring user), but its
growth may require a reconsideration of its priorities and this will be a challenge,
which might affect its future.

Snapchat Vs its competitors:

4 Reasons Why Snapchat's Business Model Could Work :

Snapchat refers to itself as a fun messaging application that allows users to share
moments with each other. It is possible to take a photo or video, add a caption or
drawing, and then send it to a friend or a group of friends. Friends can view these photos
or videos for a maximum of 10 seconds before it disappears forever.

Multiple sources have reported that Google and Facebook have attempted to acquire the
company for more than $3 billion. The company has declined any buyout offers and
instead has focused on a strong business model that will make it successful without
being acquired.
Provides Users With Fresh Content : The centerpiece of Snapchat's business model
is the ability for users to share their pictures, videos and stories with their friends. This
type of content accounts for a significant majority of all of the content that is transmitted
and consumed within the app. Recently, Snapchat rolled out a new feature, which is
known as Discover. This new feature allows users to discover professionally made
content by leading brands, which is exclusively accessible on the Snapchat mobile
platform. Using the Discover feature, brands such as ESPN and National Geographic can
share their stories, photos or videos with users. The users just access the Discover
section of Snapchat to browse a catalogue of content from leading brands. This
informative content keeps users engaged even when they aren't looking at photos or
videos from their friends.

Brand-Created Stories Beyond the Discover Section : While only a select few
brands are paying to display content in the Discover section, any brand is able to create
an account to communicate the brand's story. Taco Bell, Good Morning America and
National Public Radio have used this strategy successfully. By simply creating an account
similar to an individual user's account, brands can show consumers behind-the-scenes
content and even conduct promotions top increase brand equity.

Sending Money : While photo sharing and social networking has increased
exponentially in popularity, so too has the need for individual consumers to share cash
with each other. Companies such as PayPal and Venmo, for example, have garnered
multibillion dollar valuations due to easy money transferring services. This trend was not
lost on Snapchat, and it rolled out the ability to share cash between users in November
2014.The company now allows users to attach their debit cards to their Snapchat
accounts. When a user is chatting with another user, it is now possible to send money
directly through the app. All a user has to do is tap a green dollar sign, denote the
amount they want to send and then send the money directly to another user's checking
account.

Sending and Receiving Photos and Videos : The main reason why Snapchat's
business model will continue to work and make it another tech giant is the fact that
people love sharing photos. As of August 2015, Snapchat is the number-one app for
sharing photos and videos. This trend of sharing moments with friends through photos or
videos is unlikely to decline. Instead, users will increase the amount of content they
share with each other on Snapchat and other platforms. In addition, people have even
become celebrities within the Snapchat user community. Some Snapchat users have
achieved a high level of fame with their unique photos and funny doodles. Even if a user
has no content to send or receive from his own friends, he would still have the chance to
engage with the app by following a Snapchat celebrity. As long as users continue to want
to share moments with their friends online, Snapchat will continue to be successful.