Snapchat supports five different ad formats: Single Image or Video Ads, Story Ads, Collection Ads, Filters, and AR Lenses.

This article goes through the differences between the ad formats and Smartly.io's support for each format.

You select the ad format when creating a new ad.

Supported ad formats

Here's a quick overview of the Snapchat ad formats supported by Smartly.io.

See more information on the ad formats in Snapchat's help, including examples and requirements for each ad format.

On top of the ad formats, each ad can have an attachment. The attachment defines what happens when the user taps on the ad, for example, whether the user is taken to a website or an app.

"Commercial" is a special version of a Single Video ad. They are non-skippable if they're under 6 seconds long. Up to a three-minute "Extended Play Commercial" is skippable after the first 6 seconds. You enable commercials in the ad set settings, and they're restricted to certain countries.

Use the ad formats in campaigns

This section provides information on the ad format-specific things you need to be aware of and on the settings to use. Each Snapchat ad format has its own specification on the different media types.

Use this information alongside the instructions on how to create ads in new Snapchat campaigns or how to add ads to existing campaigns.

ℹ Note: When you're creating an ad, you select which ad sets you're creating it for. This selection also determines which formats you can use for the ad: each ad set defines what ad formats are allowed.

Single Image or Video Ads

Requirements

You can use either an image or a video as the media.

Image requirements:

• 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16 aspect ratio)
• .jpg or .png format
• Max size 5MB

Video requirements:

• 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16 aspect ratio)
• .mp4 or .mov format with H.264 encoding
• Max size 1GB

See more details in the specifications for Single Image or Video Ads in Snapchat's help.

Story Ads

Requirements

Main media requirements:

• 1-20 Single Image or Video Ads, with the same requirements

Background requirements:

• 360 px x 600 px image
• .png format
• Max size 2MB

Logo requirements:

•  284 x 993 px image
• .png format with transparent background
• Max size 2MB

See more details in the specification for Story Ads in Snapchat's help.

Ad settings for Story Ads

Use the following settings for a Story Ad:

• In Format, select the Story tab.
• In the Story Snaps section, add one or more Story Snaps. If you're creating dynamic ads, the Story Snaps will be created based on your catalog's products.
  • To add a Story Snap, click in the top-right corner of the section. You can add an empty Story Snap, duplicate the currently selected Story Snap, or copy a Story Snap from Snapchat Creative Library.
  • To remove a card, click .
  • For each card:
    • Define the media: either click Upload and upload a file from your local computer, click and select a file from the Asset Library, or define the URL where the file can be found (in this case, also define the file format).
    • Select the attachment for the Story Snap.
  • To see the list of all Story Snaps, click Manage. In the dialog, you can also change their order, and add, duplicate, and delete Story Snaps.
• In Attachment, if you're creating dynamic ads, select the attachment for the ad and define the CTA.
• Dynamic Options:
  • Image Template: To automatically generate the ad media based on a template and the feed, either select a Smartly.io Image Template, or click above the field to use a Snapchat Dynamic Template created in Snapchat Ads Manager.
  • URL Tracking Parameters: Define URL parameters for UTM tracking that help you track the impact of your ads in third-party analytics tools. You can use URL macros like {{creative.name}} to add details of your campaign, ad set or ad to your parameters. See Snapchat's URL Parameters and Macros for a list of the parameters available.
• In Discover Tile, define the content shown on the ad's Discover tile.
  • If you're creating dynamic ads, first select whether you want to use images from the catalog as the Discover tile or upload a static image.
  • Headline: Define the headline text.
  • Background: Define the main image for the Discover tile. (If you selected to use catalog images for dynamic ads, Snapchat generates these based on the catalog.)
  • Logo: Define a logo image, which is shown on top of the background image.
• In First Snap:
  • With dynamic ads, all the Story Snaps are automatically generated, but you can show a custom-made first snap, such as a brand video.
  • Enable Customize first snap and create a single Story Snap in the same way as described above in Story Snaps.
• In the Advanced section in Play style, define whether the Story Ad automatically advances to the next Story Snap or if it loops the same Story Ad until the user advances manually.

Collection Ads

Requirements

A Collection Ad can contain of a single image or video along with 3 or 4 thumbnails.

Main media requirements:

• Same requirements as for single image or video

Thumbnail requirements:

• A Collection Ad must have 3 or 4 thumbnails.
• 160 x 160 px image (1:1 aspect ratio)
• .jpg or .png format
• Max size 2MB

See more details in the specification for Collection Ads in Snapchat's help.

Filters

Creating new Filter Ads in Smartly.io is currently not supported.

You can create new Filters in Snapchat Ads Manager and reuse existing Filters in Smartly.io through the Snapchat Creative Library.

AR Lenses

Creating new AR Lenses Ads in Smartly.io is currently not supported.

You can create new AR Lenses in Snapchat Ads Manager and reuse existing AR Lenses in Smartly.io through the Snapchat Creative Library.