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by spigoon 4268 days ago 

  How do you monetize a large user base without credit cards?
Ask Facebook. With Snapchat's curated "Our Story" stream it would be easy for them to superimpose a brand's logo on top of snaps that would get viewed by an audience that fits a particular demographic. I'd wager that companies see value in that.
2 comments
increment_i 4268 days ago
I'd agree with that. You have to have a market's attention before the sell -- whatever that may be -- and Snapchat has that right now. I think this particularly applies to younger markets. For example, when I was a kid cartoons were basically 30 minute advertisements for toys and games. And you had better believe I let my parents know those toys were must haves. Snapchat might be in the best position to be that platform for the teenage market, a new MTV if you will.
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gaius 4268 days ago
Yeah it would be like subliminal messaging, like they used to do in cinemas. Remind me why they stopped?
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mmcwilliams 4268 days ago
They didn't stop. The industry term of art these days is "embedded advertising" and it's used in television and movies far more than you would think. Hear a character mention a current brand name seemingly off-hand? Yeah, not an accident.
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gaius 4268 days ago
Sure, that's product placement, and it is very hard to do well. Remember the Cisco placement in CSI, or Omega in Casino Royale? Utterly cringeworthy.

Subliminal messaging is flashing something up too quickly to consciously register, but still leaving an impression.

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mmcwilliams 4266 days ago
It's actually beyond product placement. It's about getting something in the story line that triggers brand awareness. This doesn't even mean showing or mentioning the product directly. I know several screenwriters who have their work subjected to this kind of editing. It is utterly subliminal and not at all similar to the popular culture version of "subliminal messaging" that you refer to.
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gaius 4266 days ago
On the subject of James Bond there's another scene in the same film where he's using a Sony Ericcson phone. Really, the suavest man in the world rocks a Sony phone? It's embarrassing to watch.
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