Everyone wants in on Snapchat these days and that includes companies that want to market towards millennials. Prior to the Snapchat update that includes Snap Stories, companies depended on one-to-one messaging. However, the integration of stories is a game changer. Users can now essentially do a broadcast Snapchat. Stories are 1 – 10 second long pictures or videos stitched together that can be viewed by friends an unlimited amount of times within a 24 hour window. Companies that are using Snapchat include: Taco Bell, HBO, Juicy Couture, and GrubHub. The latest big name company to join Snapchat is McDonald’s.

McDonald’s is using Snapchat to advertise their new bacon clubhouse burger. Their 36 second story includes well-known names such as: NBA star, Lebron James, Seattle Seahawks cornerback, Richard Sherman, and top NFL prospect, Johnny Manziel. In the past, Taco Bell used Snapchat to announce that they were reintroducing the Beefy Crunch Burrito, HBO featured their “Girls” stars on the red carpet, and Juicy Couture previewed its spring campaign.

Advertising channels are expanding and growing. With the rise in mobile advertising, marketing through popular apps will be readily available and useful. It will be interesting to see how companies will embrace this new advertising path and what can be with it.