The account features advertisements from local businesses including Kiser’s Barbeque, River Gate Apartments and Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery.
In addition to the usual photos of students eating bananas or videos of the notorious groundhogs on Ohio University's campus, followers of the popular Snapchat account "ohiousnap" may have noticed a new feature: advertisements.
Recently, the account began featuring advertisements from local businesses including Kiser’s Barbeque, River Gate Apartments and Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery.
Mike Warning, a sophomore studying integrated media, runs the Snapchat account and said he came up with the idea to feature local businesses after he was contacted by local promotion agency Animal Cage Productions to advertise a party. Snapchat is a mobile application that involves photo and video sharing, in which the media is deleted after someone opens it or after a set amount of time.
“It started last year. I got a (direct message) from Animal Cage Productions, and they were like, 'Hey, we’re throwing this party, can you put our flyer up on (the snap story)?,'” Warning said. “Ever since then, we’ve been working on ads on the Snapchat story.”
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Warning said the process of getting the advertisements up and running presented a logistical challenge.
“We didn’t know how it would work with the service agreements of Snapchat,” he said. “There’s a gray line whether or not you can (have) advertisements through Snapchat, and that kind of made it difficult, but we have everything figured out.”
For Warning, the most important part of the advertising is keeping the featured advertisements relevant to OU students.
“We’re trying to keep it to things students are interested in,” he said. “We don’t want to overrun the whole thing with ads. I just want to make sure people won't be put off by it.”
Sean Kiser, the owner of Kiser’s Barbeque, 1002 E. State St., saw the Snapchat account as an opportunity to promote his business to a large group of people.
“It’s mainly kind of branding, getting directly in front of the student population with the logo,” Kiser said. “We’re sending out that we're doing free delivery. We’ve always offered free delivery, and we’re kind of pushing that.”
Kiser said he’s noticed an uptick in business since the beginning of the advertisements.
“I think we’re kinda starting to see new orders from student-populated areas, and some new faces in the restaurant, so I think it has been effective," Kiser said.
OU students have had mixed responses to the Snapchat advertisements. Some said the new advertising technique is a great marketing strategy by local businesses.
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“I think it’s effective,” said Joel Kovalchik, a sophomore studying marketing, said. “I check (the Snapchat story) every day, as do most people.”
On the other hand, Sam Lagana, a sophomore studying computer science, said he has “absolute minimal interest” when it comes to the advertisements on the Snapchat story.
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