Snapchat’s pitch to advertisers is starting to feel as ephemeral as its content — and its Q4 results prove it
Advertisers are finding fewer reasons to spend on Snapchat.
The ad dollars (or lack thereof) Snapchat raked in over the holiday season makes this all too clear.
Ad revenue over the fourth quarter was flat compared to the same period the year prior. This was the slowest rate of growth since the mobile app floated onto the stock exchange in 2017. And the slump looks set to continue for a while yet.
That’s according to Snapchat’s own forecast, which warned ad revenue could drop by as much as 10% over the first three months of the year.
This protracted slowdown makes sense, considering Snapchat’s business problems. Among them are layoffs, axed initiatives like Snap Originals, the loss of its longtime ad boss and Apple snuffing out its ability to give advertisers effective targeting and measurement.