Snapchat Offers Brands More Organic Reach; Hulu Tests Self-Serve For SMBs

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Called To Account

Snapchat users may finally start to see brands posting organic content. There are 30 brands testing account pages, including Ben & Jerry’s, Target, Tim Hortons and Gucci. The new brand landing pages feature videos, custom AR lenses and a native storefront powered by Shopify, according to a Snapchat blog post. In May, Facebook announced a platform storefront called “Shops” that’s also backed by Shopify tech. Brands have only been able to post ads on Snapchat, not user-style videos. But that means ecommerce functionality is restricted to in-ad features or QR codes. The new account pages could fill a major marketer gap for Snapchat compared to other social platforms. And some of Snapchat’s pilot brands are boycotting Facebook advertising right now.

At Your Self-Service

Hulu is bringing out a self-serve programmatic platform aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, according to a blog post. “We’ve long enjoyed collaborating with many of the top 200 brands in the US,” wrote Hulu director of self-service platform sales Faye Trapani, in a nod to parent company Disney’s global branding roots. “But we also want to accommodate smaller businesses with more modest budgets, many of whom are new to streaming TV.” Hulu’s beta participants will have campaign minimums of only $500. Google and Facebook gain major advantages from having millions of small advertisers, not just hundreds or thousands of top brands. Data-savvy DTC and ecommerce startups also sometimes only use self-service platforms.

The DTC Streaming Myth

HBO Max and Peacock are at an impasse with Roku and Amazon over carriage negotiations, Variety reports. Neither streaming service struck distribution deals before they launched. Programmers want dedicated apps on Roku and Fire TV to control their user experience and collect first-party data. But Roku and Amazon are pushing for sales rights over more inventory, rights to resell or take a cut of subscriptions and free content for their own streaming properties. Roku is asking for ad spend commitment from apps on its platform, similar to shopper marketing deals between retailers and brands they carry. “Amazon and Roku are beginning to play hardball with a lot of these services,” said Parks Associates analyst Kristen Hanich. “They’re a lot more powerful than they were three years ago.”

But Wait, There’s More!

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