Consumers shopping for digital deals on Cyber Monday are also likely to be using social media applications such as Snapchat, and Zappos was looking to drive users to its online store through its filter. On Cyber Monday, many users on Snapchat shared images of themselves with friends featuring the Zappos logo, spreading awareness and positive brand sentiment.

“It is a great idea for brands using Snapchat as a marketing effort to develop a personalized Snapchat filter, which gives them the ability to customize their promotion along with adding a geofilter by simply choosing the geographic area the brand wants their filter to be available in and uploading an image asset,” said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis. “Of course, all images must be original artwork and have to be approved by the Snapchat team.

“There are some really great tip videos on customizing a snapchat filter on YouTube,” she said. “It is always best for brands to ensure that when they are completing a marketing campaign they include the social media outlets in the storyboard process for a complete and effective campaign.

“You never know where that coveted ‘viral’ component will start.”

Zappos and Snapchat
Zappos developed a filter coinciding with the holiday season and the Cyber Monday shopping frenzy. The filter featured text with holiday lettering and coloring reading “All I Want for Christmas is…”

The phrase is taken from a popular Christmas song, which many consumers know but also invites them to play along and customize a photo to coincide with the words. At the bottom of the filter is a large animated Zippos box with its logo and holiday shapes.

The middle of the filter is left blank for users to share a photo of what they want for the holiday season or to play with in their own way. Zappos is giving consumers control of their experience and something to have fun with, but is also keeping its name in the forefront of consumers’ minds.

Many Snapchat users were likely to have checked out Zappos’ Web site for deals and products following engagement with the filter. Many shoppers were ready to shop Cyber Monday deals and upon seeing the filter on Snapchat were enticed to shop at the footwear retailer.

The retailer also took to Twitter, encouraging users to share their photos with the filter to ramp up the campaign’s awareness. The user generated content makes for a more authentic call-to-action, meaning consumers are more likely to engage.

Filter frenzy
Many other brands are also taking to Snapchat for their own incorporation of filters, it seems to be the new staple in marketing.

For instance, Toys R Us rolled out branded geofilters on Snapchat for the first time, pointing to the bigger role that in-store mobile engagement will play during the 2015 holiday shopping season (see more).

Also, Major League Baseball World Series attendees shared pictures and video featuring dynamic geofilters on Snapchat that incorporate scores and statistics relevant to the games, helping to escalate the hype (see more).

“Brands that take the extra step to customize and storyboard out their snap chat marketing efforts in advance and launch to their target demographic with desired products and specials are most certainly more likely to drive sales on days like Cyber Monday,” Ms. Troutman said.

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer