• Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, September 14, 2016 8:51 AM

Snapchat is getting serious about ad targeting, including "letting advertisers target customers using email databases and other data sources," according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Snapchat is launching three new targeting options for marketers. "Through a product called Snap Audience Match, Snapchat is enabling marketers to take existing lists of email addresses and mobile device IDs, and anonymously match that data with Snapchat’s own pool of consumer data, allowing enhanced ad targeting. In this process, Snapchat is taking steps to make sure it does not employ any personally identifiable data when executing these ad campaigns.The company has been quietly testing this offering over the past few months with brands like eBay. Consumers will have the option to opt out of the Audience Match product," the Journal reported. In addition, Snapchat Lifestyle Categories enables brands to target ads to people who consume certain types of videos (like sports or gaming content). "Lastly, Snapchat is helping advertisers target ads to consumers who exhibit a certain set of characteristics that are similar to an advertiser’s existing customers-- a product Snapchat is calling 'Lookalikes.'"

Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »