Snapchat parent aims to boost local engagement

Snapchat has about 7 million active daily users in Saudi Arabia and 1 million daily users in the UAE. Lionel Bonaventure / AFP

The company behind Snapchat plans closer ties with local brands and advertisers to boost engagement among users of the image-based messaging service, whose number has grown to 1 million active daily users in the UAE.

“I look at this marketplace and I think it’s growing every single day tremendously,” said Snap Inc’s global head of sales Jeff Lucas during a presentation to UAE-based advertisers in Dubai yesterday.

“Because the user base is so engaged here we feel it’s a tremendous opportunity but not just for Snapchat, we think it’s a tremendous opportunity for all of you.”

Snapchat has about 7 million active daily users in Saudi Arabia, said Mr Lucas.

“The most important thing we can do is to talk about local content and really fund local content and invest in it heavily,” he said.

Rival services including Twitter and Instagram do not disclose their active user bases in either the UAE or Saudi Arabia.

Snap opened its first Middle Easte office in Dubai in February to work with local advertisers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The company raised US$3.4 billion in an IPO last month, valuing the company at $24bn and making it the largest tech floatation since Facebook in 2012.

However, the company’s shares are currently trading 15 per cent lower than their listing value.

Snapchat had 161 million daily active users in December, 69 million of whom are based in North America.

While traditionally popular with younger users, the service has recently been gaining increased traction among older smartphone users.

A recent research report by US investment bank Jefferies & Co found that 44 per cent of Snapchat users between 34 and 44 had used the service more than in the past, with 41 per cent of those between 25 and 34 also increasing their daily usage.

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