Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel came to Cannes having struck a partnership with WPP and the Daily Mail to form an ad agency. He also took to the stage to talk about what’s next for the self-destrcuting chat app and its highly lucrative teen audience.
Speaking at the Cannes Lions festival , the 25-year-old billionaire discussed commercial opportunities on the app, which reaches a vast number of 13-25-year-olds,
Evan said that in terms of advertising, Snapchat, which partners with MailOnline, Cosmopolitan, Comedy Central and Vice for content, ‘really cares about not being creepy’.
He explained that the brand would be shunning ‘targeted’ advertising that ‘follows’ a user around on different apps, web browsers and on social media.
Speaking about an advert running in its Father’s Day content, he added: ‘The ads really fit into the context of the story, and it really also communicated why their products are great.
‘We love when the advertising fits the context of the story we are telling, I thought that was terrific.’
The co-founder and CEO, who launched the app in September 2011, also admitted he had chosen the bright yellow background for the logo because it was a colour no other popular app had used.
Evan also said that his company, which now employs some 450 people, compared to just 10 this time last year, was keen on creating a ‘fun’ and ‘playful’ environment as it ‘takes the pressure off being creative’.
In tech in particular, everyone is so serious all the time, and has these grand visions,’ he said.
‘But we really enjoy that people like having fun, and want to be happy, and enjoy being with one another. That’s just as important.’
Evan last month released a video explaining to parents about Snapchat. In the video, he said: ‘Snapchat really has to do with the way photographs have changed. Historically photos have always been used to save really important memories: major life moments.”
Watch abn excerpt from Speigel’s interview here:
