Snapchat is one of the most popular social media apps which allows users to capture the moment and automatically erase photographs once opened. This ingenious formula has revolutionised the way many people communicate and offered a more visual form of keeping in contact with friends. Whenever a social media application becomes influential and has a large number of users, governments tend to try and launch new initiatives based on technological trends. For example, the Department of Transport spent a staggering £70,000 on a Think! road safety initiative which revolves around Snapchat filters. The UK government employed a filter which invited users to put themselves behind bars to demonstrate how easy it was to arrest people under the influence of drugs while driving. Here is an example showing the filter in question:
https://twitter.com/TheMotoringLaw/status/710780766783979520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Department for Transport released a statement which reads:
“The advertising channel mix for the Think! drug drive campaign was chosen to maximise reach among the target audience,”
They also added:
“For example, Snapchat has eight million UK users and indexes well with our young male audience (61 per cent are male and 30 per cent are aged between 18 and 34),”
Overall, the filter accounted for five percent of the department’s Think! road safety initiative and the majority of funds went into traditional marketing campaigns. Nevertheless, spending a whopping £70,000 on a basic Snapchat filter is astonishing and I wonder if it resonated more than web adverts with a younger demographic.
