Can Snapchat be used to advertise events?
Yes. Snapchat's Awareness and Engagement objective covers awareness, video views and place promotion, and Sponsored AR Filters let people add branded overlays to their Snaps. On-Demand Geofilters, once the usual event tool, were retired in 2023.
Formats that suit events
- Video and Story ads: build awareness before the event under the Awareness and Engagement objective.
- Place promotion: a promotion type inside Awareness and Engagement for promoting a location.
- Sponsored AR Filters: a Camera placement, built in Ads Manager, that attendees can add to their Snaps.
- Leads: collect sign-ups or registrations with a lead form.
Budget
Snapchat’s minimum spend is $5 a day, but it recommends $20 to $50 a day so campaigns get through the Exploration Phase. Snapchat says that phase typically takes 4 days or more, so start well before the event date.
In practice
Plan in stages: awareness two or more weeks out, reminders in the final days, and AR Filters on the day. For an app or game, the event is usually a launch, season or live update. Promote it with the App Promotion objective so the campaign optimises for installs or re-engagement, not just reach.
See how we run Snapchat for apps on our Snapchat ads agency page.
Sources checked 4 October 2026
- Snapchat Business Help Center: Updates to Ads Manager Objectives
- Snapchat Business Help Center: Available Ad Types by Objective
- Snapchat Business Help Center: Build a Sponsored AR Filter Campaign in Ads Manager
- Snapchat Support: How to Buy a Filter for My Business (On-Demand Geofilters retired)
- Snapchat for Business: Snapchat Ads Pricing
Related Snapchat questions
- Is Snapchat good for advertising?
- Can I use a Snapchat filter to advertise?
- Can you advertise videos on Snapchat?
- Do you need a Snapchat account to run Snapchat ads?