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Snapchat plans on an “ambitious” initiative to onboard Chinese advertisers, as well as marketers in other Asian-Pacific (APAC) countries, Business Insider reports.
The company revealed this intention in a new job listing for an International Strategy Manager, who will be based in Shenzen, China, and spearhead Snapchat’s APAC ad efforts.
The strategy will allow Snapchat to deepen its ties with China, although Chinese citizens can’t access the app. Snap already has an R&D lab in Shenzen to develop hardware products, for example. However, the Chinese government blocks its online population of 731 million from accessing foreign websites, apps, and media, in what is known as “the Great Firewall of China.”
This means access to platforms like Snapchat is prohibited, which has proved an issue for US digital giants — Google pulled its search business out of China in 2010, for example. Though Snapchat can’t grow its user base in China, its new strategy still allows it to onboard Chinese advertisers and, potentially, users in other APAC countries.
Targeting China and the APAC region represents a shift for Snapchat, which has previously focused on growth in developed markets like North America and Europe.Snapchat has historically prioritized growth efforts in developed markets, where high-speed internet and high-end mobile devices are readily available, according to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. However, the company’s shifting focus likely comes as a result of its struggle to grow ad revenue — Snap has missed revenue expectations for its three quarters as a public company.
China and APAC are large and growing ad markets. China is the world’s second-largest ad market — digital ad spend in the region reached an estimated $48 billion in 2017, according to GroupM, per Ad Age, and digital ad spend in the APAC region reached about $59 billion in 2017, according to Magna Global. For context, US digital ad spend reached an estimated $84 billion in 2017. Magna estimated that total ad spend grew 7.3% in China and 5.6% in the APAC region in 2017, respectively, whereas US ad spend grew 3.6% during the year.
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