Fospha’s recent SXSW Masterclass, The Secrets of Scaling on Snap: Data-Driven Strategies for Full-Funnel Growth, delivered a wealth of insights on how to drive measurable success on Snapchat. If you missed it, here’s a quick recap of the key takeaways:
📈 Snapchat's Untapped Potential
With 453M daily active users and a 14% YoY revenue surge, Snapchat presents a huge opportunity for brands looking to diversify their channel mix and reach high-intent audiences. Despite this, most brands dramatically under-attribute Snap's true value — a key takeaway from the session.
"Snapchat gets absolutely killed by last-click attribution," said Jamie Bolton, VP of Growth at Fospha. "98% of Snap’s impact is missed when brands rely on last-click models — that’s a massive blind spot."
The problem is structural: Snap’s strength is in driving upper and mid-funnel engagement, which often leads to direct sales — but not necessarily via a last-click path. The result? CFOs and CMOs overlook Snap's true ROI, underinvesting in a platform with significant headroom for growth.
"If you’re missing 98% of the conversions, of course, the ROAS isn’t going to look great," Bolton added. "That’s why independent, full-funnel measurement is essential."
🏆 The Five Golden Rules for Snap Success
Fospha distilled years of data and client success into five key principles for driving consistent performance on Snap:
1️⃣ Implement Effective Measurement
Snapchat’s performance is massively underrepresented in last-click models. Independent full-funnel measurement allows brands to:
Capture true ROI and full-funnel contribution
Improve budget allocation and scale with confidence
Justify Snap investments to CFOs and senior leadership
"Snapchat is by far the most under-attributed platform we’ve seen," said Colin Duethorn, Group Manager at Snap. "Clients who adopt independent measurement models see a clear lift — not just on Snap, but across their entire media mix."
2️⃣ Spend Across the Full Funnel
Snap's value isn't limited to driving conversions. Fospha data shows that brands investing more than 10% of their Snap budget into awareness and consideration ads consistently outperform their competitors on blended revenue and CPA.
"If you're only buying conversion-focused ads, you're speaking to just 5% of your audience — the people already in-market," said Bolton. "Brands that invest across the funnel — from awareness to conversion — see transformational results."
+160% YoY increase in upper-funnel spend on Snap among Fospha clients underscores this point.
3️⃣ Diversify Ad Formats
Snap's broad range of ad formats enables brands to engage users at every stage of the customer journey:
AR experiences — Immersive, high-engagement formats
Promoted Places — Location-based ads
Chat Ads — Integrated within the Snap ecosystem
Story Ads — Seamless, native content
"Snapchat has one of the most diverse sets of ad formats in the industry," said Duethorn. "It allows brands to meet their audience where they are — whether it's within Stories, the map, or directly through AR."
4️⃣ Leverage Snap During Peak Seasons
Snapchat’s CPM increases during peak periods are significantly lower than other platforms like Meta, making it a strategic advantage during high-demand events like Black Friday.
"The brands that perform best over Black Friday aren't just running high-discount conversion ads in November," Bolton explained. "They're laying the groundwork with upper-funnel campaigns months in advance — and Snap’s low CPMs during peak make that investment even more valuable."
5️⃣ Creative Is Key
Snapchat-native creative is essential to capturing audience attention and driving engagement. Fospha shared the key creative best practices:
Design for sound on – Over 60% of Snap ads are viewed with sound on
Keep it authentic – Lo-fi, native-feeling content performs better
Rotate creative regularly – To avoid ad fatigue and maintain engagement
"Snapchat is not the place for polished, over-produced content," said Duethorn. "If it looks too polished, it stands out as an ad — and that breaks the flow of the user experience."
🔎 Winning Case Studies
🛡️ Cove: +50% Increase in Blended Revenue After Switching to Fospha’s Measurement Model
Cove, a home security brand, initially paused Snap ads after poor results from last-click measurement. When Fospha onboarded Cove and applied a full-funnel model, the results were immediate:
+50% increase in blended revenue within weeks
Their highest-ever sales day within two months
Over 99% of Snap-driven revenue had previously been missed by last-click models
"We showed them how much Snap was driving — they were missing almost all of it under last-click models," said Bolton. "Once they saw the data, they scaled spend fast — and the results followed."
👗 Oh Polly: 85% Increase in Snap Spend = 50% Lift in Revenue
British retailer Oh Polly saw Snap as a key channel for scaling in the US market. Working with Fospha, they increased Snap spend by 85% and saw:
+50% increase in blended revenue
Significant improvement in CPA despite higher spend
"When you see CPA dropping while scaling spend — that’s when you know you’ve found real headroom," said Bolton.
📘 Unlock the Full Snapchat Opportunity
Fospha’s Snap Playbook distills all of these insights — measurement strategies, budget allocation recommendations, creative best practices, and more — into a single resource.
Stay tuned for more insights from Fospha’s SXSW Masterclass Series,
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