Some campaigns are products of timing, and some are products of truth. Snap’s “Say It In A Snap” has been the latter, born from how an entire generation communicates. When Marketing Mind sat down with Ankit Goyle, Head of Marketing – India at Snap Inc., the starting point became instantly clear.
“This generation is very visual. They express in visuals what they can’t in words,” Goyle said.
He added that “Snapping is intrinsic to the generation, and we wanted to build on that.”
For a campaign built on raw emotion, the choice to go wide, OOH, DOOH, print and digital, wasn’t accidental. “It’s our first brand campaign, so we created a multimedia mix. OOH gives us impact, print gives us the right audience, and digital gives us amplification,” Goyle said. “It covers the three cohorts we had, advertisers, creators and users.”
Snapchat’s camera-first identity shapes everything the brand believes about modern storytelling. “Snapchat opens into the camera. The user is the creator, and we want to celebrate that,” Goyle said. “If brands look at it from that lens, their storytelling will evolve.”
Unlike the polished, performance-led persona seen on other platforms, Snapchat thrives on authenticity. “We encourage brands to show up unfiltered and raw. Multi-format storytelling, AR Lenses, video, creator-led content, is the way to do that,” he added.
When asked about the parallels with Myntra’s user-first content strategy, Goyle explained: “It’s got beautiful synergy. They’re doing it for their business goal; we’re doing it for ours. The synergy is the same.”
But he is equally firm that Snapchat is much bigger than just Lenses. “I’ll give you two big opportunities, Spotlight and our advertising tools,” Goyle said.
“Spotlight has seen exceptional reach. And attention planning with Lumen measures real eye-attention, not just views.”
Then he leaned into what he believes is one of Snap’s strongest differentiators: Sponsored Snaps. “Sponsored Snaps help brands engage like a Snapchatter. Now brands can Snap like a Snap Star,” Goyle said.
He added a number that captured its power: “Ajio was the first brand to adopt Sponsored Snaps, and on day one we had 42 million reach.”
Campaigns across sectors have followed suit. “Swiggy’s Friendship Day campaign reached 66 million users,” he said. On Myntra, he added: “They’ve seen 3X ROAS with a video + AR-led format.”
When the conversation moved to the intimacy of the platform, Goyle offered what may be the purest articulation of Snap’s ecosystem: “Your everyday moments happen in the chat tab. Sponsored Snaps let advertisers be part of those conversations,” he said. “When users fire up the app, they can see a Snap from a brand, and it feels natural.”
And on global innovations: “For the movie ‘Wicked,’ the artist spoke directly to Gen Z, not with a trailer, but like a one-to-one conversation.”
The creator ecosystem is another big piece of the Snap world. “We have robust programs for our creator ecosystem. Once they reach a threshold, they get a Snap Star badge and a monetization program kicks in,” Goyle said.
The conversation then shifted to the future, not just of Snap but of India itself. “We have 250 million users in India, and 90% are young Indians,” Goyle said.
“BCG estimates India’s Gen Z at 377 million. This cohort is expected to be a $2 trillion economy by 2035.” And the line that defines why brands cannot ignore this audience: “By 2035, one in every two rupees spent will be spent by Gen Z.”
No surprise, then, that he said: “It’s a no-brainer for brands to partner with us. And they’ve been doing this for months now.”
On how AR and Lens Studio fit into business outcomes, he said: “It depends on brand KPIs, some want installs, some want sales, and CPG brands may want brand lift. Virtual try-ons and Lens Studio have strong use cases globally.”
When asked what a strong Snapchat-first Gen Z launch looks like, Goyle shared a blueprint: “Multi-format storytelling. If you restrict yourself to one format, Gen Z notices. A holistic approach feels natural.”
And finally, on the most debated topic in marketing, attention: “Attention is a problem with the generation overall. On Snap, we perform better because visual cues, AR Lenses and Snapping lend themselves to better attention,” he said.
The conversation ended where the campaign began, with a generation that communicates in pictures, not paragraphs. And if brands want to speak in that language, they must learn to “say it in a snap.”
