Snapchat Campaigns (Standard)

General

This article outlines the campaign workflow for configuring and activating Snapchat campaigns, which entails:

• Syncing campaigns and ad sets from Snapchat campaigns with Flight Control campaigns.
• Configuring your decisioning logic to toggle ads on and off on Snapchat.
• Generating and rendering ads based on the campaign logic.
• Publish ads from Flight Control into Snapchat under the specified ad sets.
• Collecting insights and analytics, which are then integrated into our cross-channel dashboard.

Flight Control doesn't serve Snapchat ads directly. Instead, it generates all possible ad variations for each ad set in advance, publishes the ads to the Snapchat ad sets, and toggles ads (on/off) in real time to perform dynamic creative optimization (DCO).

Note: Flight Control also supports running dynamic product ads in Snapchat. For more information, see Snapchat Dynamic Product Ad (DPA) Campaigns.

Supported Ad Types & Specifications

Snapchat campaigns in Flight Control support the following ad types:

• Image or Video (3 to 180 seconds)
• Commercial (3 to 180 seconds)
  • Note: Commercial ads require syncing with an Awareness & Engagement campaign in Snapchat Ads Manager that contains at least one ad set using Automatic Placement.

Supported Snapchat Ads Manager campaign objectives

• Awareness & Engagement (all outcomes)
• Traffic (Clicks to Website, Landing page views)
• Sales (Clicks to Website, Landing page views)

Asset specifications

• Template Type: Image or Video
• Ad Size: 1080x1920 (9:16)
• Recommended Duration: 3 to 9 seconds (but 3 to 180 seconds is allowed)

We recommend referencing the safe area PNG overlay template for Snapchat ads.

Supported metrics

• Clicks
• Impressions
• 1st Quarter
• 1st Quarter Rate
• Mid Point
• Mid Point Rate
• 3rd Quarter
• 3rd Quarter Rate
• Completed
• Completion Rate
• Cost

User Permissions 

• You need the Campaigns user permission to create or edit campaigns.

Prerequisites

• Integrate with a Snapchat account.
• Have creatives stored in your account's Creative Library that apply to your social media campaign type.

Snapchat Campaign Workflow 

Once you've started a new campaign by clicking Create from the Campaigns page and selecting Snapchat as the campaign type, follow the steps below to set up and activate your Snapchat campaign in Flight Control.

At a high level, the setup process follows the steps outlined in the campaign header:

1. Configure General Campaign Settings.
2. Sync Snapchat Ad Sets with Flight Control.
3. Set Up the Campaign Logic.
4. Generate and Render Ads
5. Publish Ads.
6. Activate the Campaign Version.

Detailed Campaign Setup and Activation Workflow

1. Configure General Campaign Settings

The Campaign Homepage is the first step of the campaign, where you can: 

1. Add a campaign description.
2. Select any premium services (e.g., Sports, Weather).
3. Add campaign tags for reporting purposes.

2. Sync Snapchat Ad Sets with Flight Control

1. Navigate to the campaign's Ad Sets step of the workflow in the Header.
   • This is where you can connect your Flight Control campaign to your Snapchat advertising account.
2. Click Add.
3. Select a Snapchat account.
4. Select a Snapchat campaign.
5. Click OK.
   • This process can take a few seconds. Once finished, all connected Snapchat campaign ad sets will be displayed.

Flight Control will sync the ad sets from the Snapchat campaign.

3. Set Up the Campaign Logic

1. Go to the Campaign Logic step in the campaign header.
   • This is where you can configure your decisioning logic to toggle ads on and off on Snapchat.
2. Add and connect cards to your campaign card as needed for your strategy:
   • Product Selection Card - This card selects a product from a product feed to display in an ad using a specified selection strategy.
   • Content Selection Card - This card selects a content item from a content feed to display in an ad using a specified selection strategy.
   • Condition Card - This card conditions by one or more attributes (usually ad sets) and selects which card output and creative to use for an impression.
   • Schedule Card - This card lets you perform campaign actions like dayparting and other date/time ad-serving specifications.
   • Distribution Card - This card generates multiple ads for each ad set based on the number of card outputs used. The social media platform optimizes the ad serving between these ads using its own optimization methods.
   • Creative Cards - Each creative card represents one or more ads that will be created for the social platform. Social campaign creatives come from your account's Creative Library.
3. Open the Creative Card Settings pane to customize each creative. Select between Image or Video and Commercial ads. See the table below for information on fields in Snapchat campaign creative cards:

Field	Description
Ad Name	Allows you to define the name of the ad that will be created in Snapchat. If nothing is inserted, the creative name will be used.
Media Name	Lets you enter the name for the media in Snapchat (instead of using the creative ID as the default name).
Landing Page	Lets you choose the source for the ad's landing page. You can insert a URL manually by selecting Insert Manual Link.
Landing Page URL	Lets you enter a URL to use as the ad's landing page. Note: This field only displays if you selected Insert Manual Link. Note: Special characters aren't allowed for this field.
Select Public Profile	Lets you select a Snapchat public profile to publish the ad to. For information, see What is a Public Profile on Snapchat?
Brand Name Optional	Lets you change the public profile name displayed in the ad. Note: A 25-character limit exists.
Headline	Lets you enter a headline for the ad. Note: A 34-character limit exists.
Call to Action	Use this to show a button or link in the ad that represents the action you want the user to take. Select from predefined CTAs.
Switch to Standard Button Color	Replaces the CTA button color with Snapchat's default.
Click Trackers	Lets you enter up to five click-tracking URLs for the creative. These third-party click trackers must come from vendors approved by Snapchat. You can use macros to dynamically insert tracking URLs from your campaign's feeds and placements.
Impression Trackers	Lets you enter up to five impression-tracking URLs for the creative. These third-party impression trackers must come from vendors approved by Snapchat. You can use macros to dynamically insert tracking URLs from your campaign's feeds and placements.
Enable Snapchat users to share the ad	Allows users to share your ad with friends.
Post Uploaded Media to Public Story/Profile	Publishes your ad to your public profile and story for organic reach.

Tip: You can copy and paste cards from one campaign to another within the same account using Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + C and Command + V (Mac). Only cards that are relevant to a specific campaign type can be pasted in the campaign map. If the creative for a duplicated creative card doesn't exist in the target account's Creative Library, the creative will be added.

Step 4: Generate and Render Ads

Once the campaign logic has been set up without any errors, the Generate Ads icon on the far right section of the header will become highlighted.

You must now generate all possible ad variations (outcomes) from your campaign map logic:

1. Click Generate Ads within the campaign's header to start the process of generating ads. Once ads have been generated, the system will automatically start rendering the ads.
   • You'll be directed to the campaign's Ads step once ads start generating.
2. Review your rendered ad variations within the Ads table.
   • Note: These are simulated social media previews. Minor preview discrepancies may exist before publishing ads to a social media platform.
3. Optional. Update ad variation elements individually or in bulk as needed (examples: primary text, headline, and CTA changes).

Note: The campaign logic will be locked once ad generation begins. Changes made to the campaign's feeds or creatives won't affect the campaign unless you click Generate Ads again.

5. Publish Ads

Once all ads have been automatically generated, the Publish icon on the far right section of the header will become highlighted, indicating that ads are ready to be published.

1. Click Publish to upload the generated ads to the Snapchat platform. This will bring up the Publish Ads window, where you can:

   Review the number of ads being published, updated, or deleted between the last version and the current version being published. Choose whether to pause all ads from the previous version or keep them running until the new version activates. Decide whether to permanently delete or simply turn off ads marked for deletion in the connected social media account. Choose whether the campaign version should activate automatically after ads are published, with options to enter a custom version name and description. Schedule a future activation time and determine what happens if ads fail to publish or are rejected by the social platform. Select how you want to activate the campaign: Once the first ad is approved (Recommended) Once all ads complete the review process, and at least one is approved Only if all ads are approved Click Publish and Activate or Publish, depending on the previously selected activation settings.

   2. Await the "published" status for all ad variations in the Ads step.
      • Note: Campaign version actions are disabled while ads are being published to social media platforms.

If publishing is successful, all ad variations in the Ads step will display a "published" status, and their social media platform ad IDs will populate. At this point, Flight Control uses actual social media placement renderings for creative previews.

Ads published to social media platforms are paused until you activate your Flight Control campaign, which is outlined in the last step of the workflow.

6. Activate the Campaign Version

Once ads are successfully published, the Activate icon in the far-right section of the header will be highlighted, indicating that the campaign version is ready to be activated. 

To activate the campaign version:

Click Activate in the campaign Header. The Activate Ads window will be displayed. Optional. Enter a custom version name. Optional. Enter a version description. Select the Set time for future activation  checkbox and enter a day and time for the version to activate on. To cancel the scheduled activation, click the "x" symbol of the Scheduled Activation badge in the campaign header. You can then click Activate to initiate or reschedule activation. Select how you want to activate the campaign: Once the first ad is approved (Recommended) Once all ads complete the review process, and at least one is approved Only if all ads are approved Click Activate.

The campaign version will be "locked" by default after activation. Once a campaign version is activated, Flight Control will begin serving ads on Snapchat, toggling ads on and off according to your campaign map configurations.

Important: Once your campaign is running on the social platform, you must make changes to Flight Control-related ads directly within Flight Control, not the social platform. Otherwise, unintentional changes and data overwrites may occur.