These new ad placements are designed to extend the way users already interact with businesses on Snapchat, offering advertisers more opportunities to engage with the platform’s community.

Sponsored Snaps will allow businesses to deliver full-screen vertical video ads directly to users’ inboxes. Users must opt-in to open these Snaps, and they have the option to reply by sending a message to the advertiser or using a call-to-action link to explore more.

The Sponsored Snaps are visually distinct from regular Snaps and will disappear if left unopened. Unlike other Snaps, they won’t trigger a push notification, ensuring a more user-friendly experience.

Promoted Places will highlight sponsored locations on the Snap Map, encouraging users to discover nearby businesses. As part of the feature, certain locations will be marked as “Top Picks,” based on visitation trends within the Snapchat community.

According to Snapchat, marking a location as a “Top Pick” can result in a 17.6% increase in visits among frequent users. Promoted Places aims to help businesses measure and drive foot traffic to their physical locations.

Snapchat is eager to gather feedback on these new features and plans to iterate and evolve them based on user input.

The company is also exploring future integrations, such as CRM systems and AI chatbot support, to enhance customer engagement through the Snapchat Sponsored Snaps, as well as new possibilities for enabling customer loyalty through the Snap Map.

The post Snapchat Launches Sponsored Snaps, Promoted Places to Boost Businesses appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Regardless of the reason, what it all boils down to is if the brand is reaching its desired target audience. If the brand is not reaching its target audience, it could be time for a rebrand.

Rebranding might seem intimidating at first, which is why Matthew Woodword, the director of Search Logistics, is sharing some of his top tips regarding the most successful rebrands ever, and why they actually worked.

Dunkin Donuts to Dunkin’

Many overlook the transformative power of rebranding in revitalizing a company’s image, attracting new audiences, and staying relevant in dynamic markets.

The best rebrands are the ones that feel like they were already like that in the first place.

For instance, take a look at the Dunkin Donuts rebrand. Their slogan was already “America runs on Dunkin’.”

Making their transition from Dunkin Donuts to Dunkin’ a step in the right direction. Plus, by eliminating “donuts” from their brand title, they opened up their product base to include more than just donuts.

McDonalds Adding McCafe

McDonalds is one of the biggest brands out there. Everyone knows what those golden arches mean, and there are locations around the globe.

What used to be a red and yellow haven with playgrounds and kid birthday parties became sleeker and more mature–as if McDonalds was growing up with the kids it used to feed happy meals to.

Now McDonalds has rebranded to include a more “grown-up” coffee and bakery menu named McCafe. The restaurants themselves got better, faster wifi, modernized the design, and even changed their menu to fit whatever global location they were in.

For example, did you know you can get macarons in the Paris McDonalds? All this, while still keeping the core value-price menu items that everyone has grown to love, like cheeseburgers, fries, and happy meals.

WalMart to Walmart

The best rebrands are the ones that people do not even notice, because the brand still stays true to its intrinsic core. That is exactly what happened here.

Walmart has always been a place to save money because they offer some of the cheapest goods in the USA. That’s why when they rebranded their tagline from “always low prices”  to “save money, live better,” it just made sense. Not only was their rebrand received with open arms, people were rushing through the door to see how Walmart could truly help them live better lives by saving money.

Key Takeaways

So what are some key takeaways from these giant corporations and their wildly successful rebrands? First off, more often than not, simplicity is key.

Matthew says ‘Changing the entire identity of the company is not only unnecessary, it often loses the audience you had in the first place and is a great way to sink your brand.’

Think back to Dunkin Donuts, and how a simple name change clarified their message and moved them closer to their target audience.

Next, audiences grow up. Your target audience is constantly evolving, and as a brand, you need to figure out how to evolve with them. Just like McDonalds did with their rebrand, don’t be afraid to modernize and grow up with your audience by catering to their newfound needs while keeping your unique brand intact.

Lastly, as shown through the Walmart rebrand, brand identity goes far beyond just the logo. You have to think of colors, symbols, and especially the tagline to really reach your audience and land your mark.

Matthew emphasizes, ‘All of these rebrands worked because they succeeded in achieving better clarity of purpose, authenticity, and differentiation. They made sure their rebrand still connected to the original core concept of the brand, and therefore kept consistency across touchpoints, while still aligning with the ever-changing and evolving consumer preferences.’

[Featured Image Credit]

The post The Most Successful Rebrands Ever (And Why They Worked!) appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

On Monday, the tech company continued its phenomenal share price growth, tripling in value in under four years, according to The Guardian report.

A pandemic-era surge in tech stocks has driven the major tech companies to new highs, pulling US stock markets with them.

Apple became the world’s first trillion dollar company in August 2018, passed $2tn in 2020 and hit its new high as trading began after the holidays and its shares passed $182.80 a piece before dipping lower to end the day valued at over $2.9tn.

Apple alone is now more valuable than the combined values of Boeing, Coca-Cola, Disney, Exxon-Mobil, McDonald’s, Netflix and Walmart. Its shares have risen 38% since the beginning of 2021, one of the largest gains on the Dow Jones industrial average stock market index.

The company released its last quarterly earnings in October and made a profit of $20.6bn over the previous three months despite suffering from Covid-related supply chain issues.

It is unlikely to remain the only $3tn company as analysts expect Microsoft will also hit the mark later this year.

Apple thinks ahead

In the other report, an anonymous tipster hinted that Apple has advised major U.S. carriers to prepare for the launch of eSIM -only smartphones by September 2022.

The tipster shared a seemingly legitimate document outlining the timeframe for this initiative, although the document does not specifically mention Apple or the iPhone.

As part of the transition, some U.S. carriers will allegedly start offering select iPhone 13 models without a nano-SIM card in the box in the second quarter of 2022.

iPhone 13 models sold at Apple Stores or on Apple.com already lack a nano-SIM card in the box, with users typically able to activate a cellular plan via eSIM by turning on the iPhone, connecting to a Wi-Fi network, and following the on-screen instructions.

Given the alleged September 2022 deadline, it is possible that Apple might remove the physical SIM card slot starting with some iPhone 14 models, rather than some iPhone 15 models as originally rumored, but nothing is definitive at this point.

The post Apple hits $3tn valuation; now more valuable than combined Boeing, Coca-Cola, Exxon-Mobil, Netflix appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.