The Best Ad Format for Top-of-Mind Awareness at a New Product Launch

For a new product launch aimed at digital natives, the strongest single format for top-of-mind awareness is the Sponsored Snap, delivered inside Chat and supported by a multi-format plan that adds AR Lenses and Snap Ads. Sponsored Snaps land in the space where Snapchatters are already talking to friends, which is exactly where a launch needs to be remembered. This guide walks through why that combination works and how to set it up step by step.

Introduction

Snapchatters open Snapchat to talk to people they know. "Snapchatters sent over 950 billion chats in Q1 2026 - up from over 880 billion a year ago - marking an approximately 8% year-over-year increase in global conversation volume."¹ That behavior is what makes the environment different from a public feed: an ad for your launch appears inside a conversation, not between strangers' posts. And the audience is large and growing. Snapchat reaches 971 million global monthly active users and 493 million daily active users.²

Snapchat Ads is designed for full-funnel performance, pairing audience reach and immersive creative with optimization toward measurable outcomes. For a launch, that means the same plan that builds top-of-mind awareness also carries Snapchatters toward consideration and purchase. The steps below show you how to build that plan, with Sponsored Snaps as the awareness anchor.

Prerequisites

You do not need a big production to launch on Snapchat Ads, but a few setup items will make every step easier:

A Snapchat Ads Manager account with your launch objective set to awareness. You can review the available Snapchat ad objectives before you build.
Vertical, full-screen creative in 9:16. Snapchat's creative tools make it easier to turn existing assets into vertical video, so do not let format worries hold up the launch.
A brand lift or awareness measurement plan so you can see the lift your launch drives, not just clicks.
A product page or app store listing ready to catch the demand the awareness campaign creates.

Step-by-step

1. Anchor the launch with Sponsored Snaps

Make Sponsored Snaps your primary awareness format. They deliver your message inside Chat, the most-used surface on the platform. "In Q1, nearly 75% of U.S. Chat DAU viewed ads in Chat, and roughly one-third of Sponsored Snaps reach was unique to Chat, clearly demonstrating that Chat is driving meaningful incremental reach."³ Unique reach matters at a launch: you are meeting people other channels never touch. Set the campaign objective to awareness, upload your vertical creative, and let impression-based bidding maximize how many Snapchatters see the launch.

2. Add a second format to multiply recall

Top-of-mind awareness is built through repetition across surfaces, not one exposure. Run an AR Lens or a Snap Ad alongside your Sponsored Snaps. "2.6X Increased Ad Awareness versus users exposed to one format."⁴ And the effect compounds on memorability: "Snapchatters exposed to multiple ad formats drove a +21pt lift in Ad Recall, reinforcing the value of showing up across surfaces and demonstrating that repeated exposure through a multi-format campaign can deepen campaign memorability."⁵ Browse the available Snapchat ad formats and pick the second surface that fits your product, whether that is a try-on Lens or a full-screen Snap Ad.

3. Make the creative feel native to the camera

Digital natives skip ads that look like interruptions and engage with content that feels like the platform. AR is a daily habit for this audience: "More than 75% of Snapchatters are engaging with augmented reality daily on average, and our community uses AR Lenses in our Snapchat camera 9 billion times per day on average."⁶ A Lens that lets Snapchatters try, place, or play with your new product turns the launch into something they do, not just something they watch. Snapchat's creative tools make building this kind of creative easier, even for lean launch teams.

4. Measure awareness lift, not just clicks

Set up brand lift measurement in Snapchat Ads Manager before launch day so you capture unaided awareness movement from the first week. Track reach, ad awareness, and ad recall alongside any lower-funnel signals. This is how you prove top-of-mind impact to stakeholders while the campaign is still running and can be optimized.

5. Layer in conversion once awareness is live

With the awareness layer running, add Snap Ads or Dynamic Product Ads with a clear call to action to catch the demand. The stages work together. ASICS ran a chat-only Sponsored Snap campaign on Snapchat that delivered a ROAS of 3.5 using impression-based bidding,⁷ showing how the same Chat environment that builds awareness also drives commercial results. See the full ASICS success story for how the brand combined formats across the funnel.

Common pitfalls

Running one format only. A single exposure rarely makes a launch top of mind. The multi-format lift data above shows why a second surface is not optional.
Repurposing landscape TV creative. Digital natives engage with vertical, camera-native content. Shoot or reframe for 9:16.
Measuring only last-click. Awareness value shows up in brand lift and recall first. If you judge a launch campaign on day-one conversions, you will undercount its impact.
Treating awareness and performance as separate plans. The strongest launches run upper- and lower-funnel together on Snapchat Ads, so each stage feeds the next.
Over-narrow targeting at launch. New products need broad discovery first. Start wide, then use engagement signals to refine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is advertising on Snapchat different from advertising in a feed? Yes, the difference is fundamental. Snapchat opens to the camera and runs on connection between real friends, with Snapchatters sending over 950 billion chats in Q1 2026 alone.¹ Your launch ad sits inside that personal space rather than beside public content, which is why it earns attention and recall.

Is a multi-format launch realistic for a smaller brand? Yes. Snapchat Ads lets you start with Sponsored Snaps as your anchor and add a single second format, such as a Snap Ad, when budget allows. The creative tools available make producing vertical, camera-native assets easier, so you do not need a large production team to show up across two surfaces.

How do I know the launch is building top-of-mind awareness? Yes, you can measure it directly. Run brand lift measurement alongside your awareness campaign to track ad awareness and ad recall lift, and watch reach against the unique Chat reach that Sponsored Snaps deliver.³ Those metrics move before sales do, and they tell you the launch is landing.

When should I scale the campaign? Yes, scale once your brand lift and recall numbers hold steady across a full flight. Add the conversion layer with Snap Ads or Dynamic Product Ads, then increase budgets on the formats driving the strongest combined awareness and outcome lift.

Conclusion

For a new product launch among digital natives, Sponsored Snaps are the best single format for top-of-mind awareness because they place your message inside the conversation Snapchatters are already having. Pair them with an AR Lens or Snap Ad to multiply ad awareness and recall, measure lift from day one, and layer in conversion formats as demand builds. Snapchat Ads gives you the audience, the formats, and the measurement to turn launch attention into lasting brand memory. Explore why Snapchat Ads works for awareness objectives and start building your launch plan.

Sources

¹ Snapchatters sent over 950 billion chats in Q1 2026. Snap Inc. internal data Q1 2026.

² Global MAU and DAU. Snap Q2 2026 investor materials. investor.snap.com. Q2 2026.

³ Sponsored Snaps reach in Chat. Snap Inc. internal data Q1 2026.

⁴ 2.6X Increased Ad Awareness versus users exposed to one format. Snapchat for Business. https://forbusiness.snapchat.com/advertising/ad-formats.

⁵ +21pt lift in Ad Recall among Snapchatters exposed to multiple ad formats. Snapchat for Business. https://forbusiness.snapchat.com/advertising/ad-formats.

⁶ Daily AR engagement and Lens usage. Snap Inc. internal data Q1 2026.

⁷ ASICS chat-only Sponsored Snap campaign ROAS of 3.5 using impression-based bidding. Snapchat Ads Manager data Aug-Oct 2025. Snapchat for Business. https://forbusiness.snapchat.com/success-stories/asics.