Snapchat is trying to make inroads with advertisers in China

U.S. tech companies and ad agencies are increasingly interested in the Chinese market, and Snapchat is no exception.

The camera company is looking for an international strategy manager based in Shenzhen, China, where Snapchat opened a research and development office last December, according to a job opening posted on LinkedIn on Dec. 8. This new role seems to go beyond the main purpose of Snapchat’s Shenzhen office, which is to further develop Snapchat’s Spectacles hardware.

The role of the international strategy manager is to “become an evangelist for Snapchat ad products in the China media community, including through direct meetings with advertisers, marketing events and trainings, etc.,” according to the job description. People in mainland China are unable to access Snapchat, though.

Snapchat’s job description.

A Snapchat spokesperson said this role doesn’t mean that Snapchat is shifting its focus on Spectacles development to growing its advertising in China. Instead, it is about working with companies and advertisers there, many of which use tech platforms to advertise outside of China.

“[This role] will be unrelated to our much larger hardware team and would be intended to benefit Chinese companies who sell products outside of China,” said the spokesperson. “This is something that many companies blocked in China still pursue.”

Snapchat’s move seems reminiscent of Facebook Audience Network, through which Facebook — which also is banned in mainland China — is able to let Chinese companies advertise to Chinese people as well as let Chinese advertisers reach markets outside of China. It wouldn’t be surprising if Snapchat is taking a page from Facebook’s playbook in China. After all, Snapchat has aggressively grown its programmatic advertising business in the U.S.. From July to September, Snapchat’s advertising revenue reached $204 million, 59 percent up from the same period a year prior, according to Imran Khan, chief strategy officer for Snap.

The company spokesperson said Snapchat’s model is different from Facebook’s in China, and that “it has nothing to do with an ad network.”

https://digiday.com/?p=267270

More in Marketing

Is this X’s (formerly Twitter) final goodbye to big advertisers? It looks like it

In the packed DealBook conference in New York yesterday, owner Elon Musk bluntly told them to shove it.

Goodbye LinkedIn, Hello TikTok: The Return podcast, season 2, episode 6

WorkTok, or CareerTok, is in full force. Combined, those hashtags on TikTok have over four billion views and it is benefiting Gen Z.

Research Briefing: TikTok tops brands’ holiday wishlist

In this week’s Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine how brands have been upping their TikTok investments this holiday season, how Lyft and the MSG Sphere are positioning themselves as ad opportunities beyond OOH, and how publishers are committing to building their events businesses in 2024, as seen in recent data from Digiday+ Research.