Breaking through the endless scroll to captivate today’s weary consumer

TOGETHER WITH

The ROI of standing out: In today’s social environment, connection is what makes brands meaningful, remembered, and, ultimately, chosen. See how Snapchat helps brands stand out by turning human connection into measurable business results.*

If you’ve been experiencing more and more déjà vu during your daily scrolls, you’re not alone.

As VP of Product Marketing at Snapchat, I know that consumers across generations are seeing social spaces converge and look more like twins than cousins. Platform designs and behaviors operate in seemingly parallel fashion, with almost identical scrolling layouts, share-out opportunities, and iconography.

Brands are now facing three growing challenges: attention deficit, ad resistance, and preference shifts toward private interactions. The issue is no longer brand visibility—it’s breakthrough and memorability. (And the déjà vu doesn’t count.)

In today’s environment, it’s clear that authenticity is what makes brands meaningful, remembered, and, ultimately, chosen. When an audience feels connected to a platform, building that connective tissue as a brand can become more intuitive, too. So let’s unpack these challenges, and in doing so, I’ll share solutions and some insight into how Snapchat helps brands stand out.

Attention deficit: Mapping the growing distance

The endless scroll no longer holds the same pull. People are spending more time in direct, intentional conversations than broadcasting to a feed.

Connections to friends, family, and public figures are what bridge the authenticity gap. Unlike traditional feed-based platforms, Snapchat is designed around these real relationships and private connections at scale.

And when I say scale, I mean 956m global monthly active users¹ and 3.5b daily friend interactions.² Snapchat’s engagement is coming directly from authentic, often real-world connections that Snapchatters are choosing to consistently cultivate.

As noted, how people use social media has fundamentally shifted from public broadcasting to more private, intentional communication. We’ve seen Gen Z, in particular, driving this behavioral evolution, with 53% of US Gen Zers primarily using social media for direct messaging over public posting. 70% of messages are sent to users’ top five friends³ and 52% prefer private DMs when interacting with creators or brands.⁴

At Snapchat, we’re pioneering new placements and leveraging authenticity. Intuitive and immersive formats capture attention, while creators on our platform build the relationships that keep that attention.

It’s no longer about standing out by fitting in. Consumers are looking to connect with their own circles rather than entire masses, and they want to do so in formats that are creative, interesting, and conducive to that connection.

How to engage audiences in private spaces

At our core, we’ve always been about uplifting private connections and giving them the most intuitive space in which to thrive.

Because Snapchat is built on real relationships, our audience shows up differently for brands. As a result, Snapchat’s highly connected environment creates stronger brand receptivity. Specifically, with our audience, we see 79% more openness toward relevant ads, 69% more likelihood to take action on relevant ads, and +10pp higher unaided ad recall vs. other platforms.⁵

Snapchat not only reaches 90%+ of Gen Z in key markets (delivering a crucial reach in the future’s core buying demographic),⁶ but half of Snapchatters are 25+ and one-third are over 35, which also provides brands with an audience carrying big buying power today.

So, the audience is engaged. Now, how can brands find their way and not feel out of place?

Snapchat’s immersive formats (including Sponsored Snaps, Story Ads, AR Lens, and Promoted Places) are designed to feel native, engaging, and less disruptive. They feel intuitive and additive to Snapchat’s ecosystem as a whole.

This means brands can become part of the creative behaviors Snapchatters are already engaging in organically, like sponsoring a trending AR Lens or highlighting their physical storefronts on the Snap Map where Snapchatters are meeting up with friends. A Sponsored Snap delivers full-screen imagery or video directly to a Chat feed, looking and feeling like an organic Snap from friends, safely denoted by a simple “Ad” badge.

Not only do these noted connection-powered formats drive engagement and connection, but they also drive real business impact. We see 2.3x higher unaided brand awareness for Sponsored Snaps than other platforms.⁷ We also see that activating across all five Snapchat surfaces can unlock up to +30% ROAS.

Snapchat helps brands stand out by utilizing human connection to foster measurable business results and build a brand presence that feels authentic and relevant, rather than something slapped on as an afterthought or easily ignored.

Brands that can participate authentically in consumers’ inner circles are better positioned to drive long-term preference and action.

Be where your brand is picked, not skipped

A new era of communication is upon us (again). Let’s pull back the excess and focus on spaces where the voices consumers care about are heard.

Brands now have the power to operate in lockstep with human connection and be mindful of where they may get lost in the noise. And while there may be a lot of noise out there, brands can still find authentic spaces where connection and authenticity thrive.

See how your brand can join Snapchat in breaking through.

^{1. Snap Inc. internal data Q1 2026}

^{2. Snap Inc. Q4 earnings 2025}

^{3. 2026 Breadth of Engagement research by eyesquare, commissioned by Snap Inc.}

^{4. Source: Emarketer, “Gen Z Favors Private DMs over Public Comments for Brand Engagement,” Aug. 2025.}

^{5. 2026 Breadth of Engagement research by eyesquare, commissioned by Snap Inc.}

^{6. Snap Inc. internal data Q1 2026.}

^{7. Kantar Sponsored Snaps Study 2025 commissioned by Snap Inc.}