Snapchat AR sponsored lens is one of the more popular, engaging and interactive ad formats among the plethora of social media ad formats. Applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory and Social Media Advertising Engagement framework, two studies were conducted to enhance current understanding of consumers’ motivations for interactions with this unique Snapchat ad format and its subsequent effects. Specifically, Study 1 examined consumers’ motivations to interact with the Snapchat sponsored lens: entertainment, aesthetics, curiosity, brand fan, uniqueness, and social interaction. Study 2 cemented consumers’ disclosed motivations as antecedents of attitudinal perceptions of the Snapchat sponsored lens and examined its subsequent outcomes: ad engagement and purchase motivation. The results revealed that the majority of motivations had a positive effect on Snapchatters’ attitude toward the sponsored ad lens, which in turn affected behavioral ad engagement and purchase motivation. Theoretical and managerial implications are presented and discussed.
Author(s): Naa Amponsah Dodoo, Emerson College; Seounmi Han Youn, Emerson College
