Blog: The Co-operative uses Snapchat to target student shoppers

The Co-operative hasn’t always been known for its innovative use of new technologies, but it has been one of the first to use Snapchat as a marketing medium.

Snapchat works by allowing people to send pictures that appear on a smartphone for just five to 10 seconds before deleting themselves.

The obvious marketing use is in providing shoppers with promotional codes that appear on shoppers’ phones for a few seconds, and this is what the Co-operative has done through its Snaptop campaign. It is targeting students by offering £30 off any laptop bought online.

Students need to add The Co-operative Electrical as a friend on Snapchat, and will be sent the code after that.The Co-op says it will follow up with two more social media campaigns, and its use of Snapchat is about targeting a specific consumer group in a way they will respond well to.