The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) Uses Snap Ads for New Year Campaign

+5PT
Lift in Ad Awareness

+8pt
Lift in Action Intent

20.16s
Average Play Time Lens

NS’ Ambition to Reach a New Audience

The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) wanted to shine a positive light on the brand, and create sympathy for the brand itself by targeting a new audience of 18-35+ within a social environment.


Snapchat was the Perfect Place to Reach this Audience

Snapchat proved to be an ideal platform for connecting with this particular audience. The NS used a multi-product approach with Snap Ads, and a gaming lens in which NS’ iconic piano was featured. This lens was built by StudioM,  using  Snap’s Lens Studio software to create a fun and interactive game.

The Multi-Format Approach Proved to be Highly Effective

NS & Mindshare used a multi-format approach, levering both video & AR. This approach was very successful, as the campaign significantly shifted Ad Recall (+5pt) and Action Intent (+8pt). In addition, it realized an incremental reach of 46,3% for the Snap Ad, and 24% for the AR Lens. The Lens facilitated a very important interaction function which suited the Snapchat ecosystem perfectly, due to the native look and feel of the AR Lens. This supported interaction, which caused the great average playtime of 20s. Moving forward, the marketing team of NS would like to include more Snap products, such as a Commercial Ad, to move other brand metrics like Message Awareness and Brand Association.


By using the Snapchat Lens, we created an interactive way to generate awareness for the Dutch Railways (NS). Our goal was to reach a younger target audience which we did with the Snapchat Lens in combination with the campaign music that was specifically written for NS by the Dutch artists Alain Clark and Babs.

Danny Zeeuw, Campagne Marketeer, NS


The multi-format approach contributed to a very successful campaign for NS. Apart from the incremental reach that was achieved, the campaign resulted in a great uplift in ad awareness and action intent!

Tess Govers, Mindshare - GroupM Nexus