Kent State University delivers efficient CPA through first to market AR Lens campaign  

Kent State University, a public research university in Ohio, partnered with Snapchat to reach students 16-18 who might be interested in applying to college. The objective was to build awareness of the university on Snapchat in order to drive students to complete undergraduate school applications. 

Kent State, collaborating with its media agency of record, Harmelin Media, is the first advertiser in the EDU vertical to use AR technology in an effort to drive student applications. The AR Lens placed a graduation cap on user’s heads, even allowing them to shake the tassel based on their movements. When testing out the lens, Snapchatters were prompted to tap and apply to the university on their mobile devices. In tandem, the client ran Snap Ads targeting the same audience, increasing their overall reach on both sides of the app. Both campaigns had strict geo-targeting to focus on the region most Kent State students apply from.

Never before has an AR Lens been used to drive student recruitment on Snapchat. The AR Lens achieved a cost per sign up that was 24% more efficient than the client’s goal ¹.