At heart, SnapChat is a messaging app especially popular among Generations Y & Z... so how can companies utilize SnapChat without coming across as "intrusive" to these key demographics? Geofilters. Our very own SnapChat geofilter at UW's Spring Commencement turned out to be a perfect platform for a staffing agency on a limited budget. The question was, if we could create a fun, tasteful geofilter that is designed to be used by these new graduates and their families, would we see an increase in interest in the jobs offered by Parker after graduation? Actually, yes!

1. CASE STUDY • • • 2200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 925, Seattle, WA 98121 | 206.447.9447 www.parkerservices.com
Advertising Using
SnapChat Geofilters, A
Marketing Case Study
CASE STUDY:
1
It started with a joke...
A pair of recruiters were talking
about an upcoming college
graduation ceremony and
wished that there was a way
to pepper the grads with “now
hiring” flyers.
Unfortunately, not only would it
be highly doubtful that we would
be allowed to do so, we did not
want to do anything that would
seem overly intrusive at this
moment in the lives of the
students and families. While we
were discussing this, another
employee overheard us and
suggested Snapchat as a
potential way to reach these
college graduates.
The idea was this: Though it
uses photos, SnapChat is a
messaging app at heart.
Students and family members
would be using the app to
message relatives and friends
who could not attend the
graduation. After taking a
photo, these users would scroll
through different options in
which to geofilter their photo.
This gave Parker two chances
at exposure – not only by those
who ended up using the
geofilter, but even those who
looked at the geofilter and chose
not to use it.
This turned out to be a perfect
platform for a staffing agency on
a limited budget. The question
was, if we could create a fun,
tasteful geofilter that is designed
to be used by these new
graduates and their families,
would we see an increase in
interest in the jobs offered by
Parker after graduation?
After submitting the image to
Snapchat and getting approval,
we let the geofilter do its work.
But...
Why SnapChat?
You may have heard of
SnapChat, but why advertise
on this platform?
• 150 Million Registered
Users, with 100 Million
monthly users
• Over 10 Billion
user-created videos in
2016, an increase of 350%
from the year prior
• 63% of the users are
between the ages of 13-
24, a key millennial
demographic
• 30% of millennials on the
platform use it daily
• In 2017, college students
used SnapChat more than
any other social network
• The temporary nature of
the content demands a
user’s undivided attention.

2. CASE STUDY • • • 2200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 925, Seattle, WA 98121 | 206.447.9447 www.parkerservices.com 2
The Goal
Our goal was to create a campaign that targeted
attendees of a college commencement ceremony.
It had to be done in a way that did not intrude on
this special moment or offend the school, while at
the same time, be embraced by users and seen as
being in the spirit of the moment. The challenge
would be to find a way to spread brand
awareness while providing a fun, convenient way
for graduates and their family to celebrate the
special occasion.
We ended up choosing to create a hand-drawn
geofilter with an unobtrusive Parker Staffing logo
using images that evoked the campus (while at
the same time avoiding any logo or copyright
issues). We submitted the filter to be used during
the time of the commencement ceremony
and were able to select the area where
the graduation ceremony would be
held.
The target of our campaign would be any
graduates and their immediate family and friends
(who would be viewing the photos) who were
posting photos on SnapChat. This ceremony
would be attended by over 45,000 family, friends,
and graduates. We hoped that viewers would see
the geofilter, use it, and later visit the web site to
review our jobs. We felt that with a graduation, we
had a highly motivated target audience. We would
measure interest through measuring website
traffic, as well as seeing if we saw any increase in
resumes the following week.
The geofilter appeared on user’s accounts on
June 11, 2016 for a period
of five hours. Our UW SnapChat
Geofilter artwork

3. CASE STUDY • • • 2200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 925, Seattle, WA 98121 | 206.447.9447 www.parkerservices.com
3
What is SnapChat?
SnapChat, a visual-based messaging service, is the most preferred social networking application
by teens and the third most popular among young adults in the United States. In fact, nearly 70% of
college students post on snapchat at least once per day (compared to only 11% on Facebook with
the same frequency).
The easiest way to explain Snapchat is that it is part visual direct communication, part media/mass
marketing, and completely instant. Users may share photos directly with each other, but unlike
Facebook, these messages and photos disappear after being viewed. So therefore, it has more in
common with phone calls (in that the audience is private and the message instantly
communicated) than any sort of texting. It has gained a mass audience even as its creators have
found different ways to monetize their platform.
One such way (to monetize) is through a photo geofilter. Prior to sending (or “snapping”) a photo,
the user may choose a variety of geofilters (images laid directly over the picture), filters (effects
that manipulate the visual quality of the photo itself), or text. This allows users to personalize the
photo at their whim. The SnapChat advertising platform allows companies to submit geofilters
which are viewable only to users during specific times and within specific geographies. This allows
companies to place advertising directly on photos which are then purposely chosen by users and
shared with their friends.
Results
In a five-hour period, 603 users sent an image
using our geofilter resulting in over 16,400 total
views of those photos. At a total cost of $526,
this works out to be about $.03 per view. Although
we do not know exactly who used the filter, with a
graduating class of about 4,500, we estimate that
nearly 13.5% of UW graduates used our filter and
even more saw our logo.
The big question was, would this translate into
new job applicants? Happily, yes!
In the week following the geofilter, we saw our
website traffic increase by 44%. Our job applicants
increased as well – when filtering out all other
sources, resumes submitted through our website
increased by 35% for the week.
We found that the effect of the campaign lasted
another week following graduation, with an
additional increase of 8% in traffic before leveling
out and returning to normal by week 3.

4. CASE STUDY • • • 2200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 925, Seattle, WA 98121 | 206.447.9447 www.parkerservices.com 4
One question was if this increase in traffic was
natural, since it would be expected that a staffing
firm website would see an increase in visits
following graduation. To test for that, we searched
for website traffic increases in 2014, as well as
2015 (we did not have the ability to measure
resume volume by source prior to 2016). In 2015,
the week following graduation saw an increase of
20%, while 2014 saw an increase of 23%. While
the week following graduation is naturally a higher
traffic week, this alone could not account for the
increase in site visits.
Therefore, we estimate that the campaign brought
in an additional 20-24% increase in site visitors
than if we had not done anything.
Final Analysis
We found that creating SnapChat geofilters was
a fast, affordable, and effective way to generate a
short burst of interest. We did experiment with
other geofilters (during music festivals and
parades), but none matched the effectiveness
of this campaign. This led us to a few guidelines
which we go over each quarter when we meet
to discuss upcoming ‘snappable’
opportunities.
In short, these guidelines are:
1. The primary audience of this campaign must
be “on-brand”. This will differ by company, but
for us it’s active job seekers local to the
Seattle-Bellevue area.
2. The campaign must be defined. Events such
as festivals and parades are great, as there
are defined geographic areas and specific
times where you know people will be
gathered.
3. The event must be ‘snappable’. There should
be a large number of people participating in an
event that would generate enough interest to
be shared on social media. Music festivals are
great, as most people have their phones out,
taking pictures of the band.
As mentioned above, we followed with a geofilter
campaign during a music festival, and while we
received higher use than the graduation (it was an
image of stage lights and a banner with the event
name on it), we saw little to no increase in site
traffic the following week. We concluded that,
while people were appreciative of the filter, they
took little notice of our logo while they were
dancing in the street. Parades were also tried, but
the audience was too broad and the event did not
guarantee that our specific target audience would
attend.
These considerations may not apply to all
businesses, but they are important ones for a
staffing company looking specifically for job
seekers. We know that graduations are fantastic.
We meet on a regular basis to review upcoming
events to see if there are any fits. Snapchat
geofilters remain affordable enough that we feel
free to experiment and try
different things.
This campaign would go
on to be recognized by the
American Staffing
Association as a
“Genius” award
winner for
creative
marketing use
of social
media in
2016.
A mock-up of
our geofilter

5. CASE STUDY • • • 2200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 925, Seattle, WA 98121 | 206.447.9447 www.parkerservices.com 5
Want to try your own?
If you’ve got an idea in mind, and want to try your
hand at a SnapChat filter, here are some steps for
success, based on our experience:
1. Create a SnapChat account. You don’t have to
start snapping, but you will need an account
to create, submit, and keep track of your Snap-
Chat geofilters. You must go through the Snap-
Chat app to create an account, since it is tied to
mobile devices.
2. Go to snapchat.com/on-demand within 31
days of your event, and follow the prompts to
see if the date, time, and area are available. It
is here you can also get an estimated cost for
your geofilter – based on length of time and
square footage of the target location. In our
experience the earlier you submit your filter, the
lower the cost may be, based on popularity of
the event.
3. Design your filter! SnapChat has handy
guidelines on their website for what is and isn’t
approved, so be sure to review those before you
create your filter. For best results, the
recommended file size is 1080px wide by 1920
px high. Your final file should be a .PNG with
a transparent background. Not design-savvy?
That’s okay! SnapChat offers some online
templates to help those without design skills or
software.
4. Upload your filter. When you’re ready, go back
to snapchat.com/on-demand and follow the
prompts to upload your own SnapChat design.
Watch your email after its been submitted. It
typically takes SnapChat 24-36 hours to
approve your filter. You will not be charged until
the filter goes live at your selected date and
time.
5. Measure, measure, measure! SnapChat
provides handy metrics for your SnapChat
geofilters, making it easy to calculate the
effectiveness of each one. These metrics
include:
• Impressions – Total number of times users
saw the geofilter when swiping to select a
geofilter for their snaps
• Conversions – Total number of times your
geofilter was used on a snap
• Views – Total number of times that snaps
with your geofilter were viewed by a user’s
friends or on their snap stories.
Parker Staffing Services is a recruiting agency based in Seattle and founded in 1979. Our business
is built on personal connections of trust and mutual respect. Parker has been cultivating
relationships with experienced contractors as well as many of the Puget Sound’s most progressive,
industry-leading companies for over 35 years.
With a client portfolio that includes some of Western Washington’s best places to work, we offer
our contractors opportunities to gain valuable, career-building experience along with recognition
and direct access to rewarding contract and full-time positions. We are a leading staffing agency
in our region, winning recognition from the Puget Sound Business Journal as one of Washington’s
Best Workplaces for four years straight. We have also been listed by Seattle Business Magazine as
one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for.
About Parker