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Version: 4.55.1

Submitting Your Sponsored Lens (Legacy)

The process for submitting Sponsor Lenses is currently in the process of migrating to utilizing Lens Folders. Please take a look at the Submitting a Lens for Business guide to learn more about the updated submission process.

Before submitting your Sponsored Lens, make sure you have configured your “Project Info”. For more information about configuring project info, please refer to the Configuring Project Info guide.

Next, make sure your Lens meets the performance requirements detailed in the Performance and Optimization guide.

Finally, remember that all Sponsored Lens submissions and purchases are subject to Snap’s Terms of ServiceBrand Guidelines, Advertising Policies, and the Self-Serve Advertising Terms.

All sponsored Lenses must display a brand name or brand logo and conform to Snap’s Ad Policies. Otherwise, the Lens will be rejected in Ads Manager when it is used in an advertising campaign.

To begin the submission process, click the Submit Lens button in the top left corner of Lens Studio (you’ll see it next to the Project Info button mentioned above). This will open the “My Lenses” window.

Logging In

If you aren’t already, you’ll have to log into your Snapchat account. This gives Lens Studio permission to manage Lenses under your account.

Use the same Snapchat account you use to sign into Ads Manager.

This involves three steps

  1. Enter your credentials
  2. Authorize Lens Studio to access your account
  3. Return to “My Lenses”

Confirm Submission

Since you’re submitting this Lens for the first time you’ll need to select whether this is a Sponsored Lens or a Community Lens. For Lenses that are to be distributed as an ad product within Snapchat, select Sponsored Lens. For Community Lenses, see our other guide for Submitting Community Lenses.

If you do not see the screen above then your account may not be set up correctly, or you may have logged in with the wrong account. Your Snapchat account should be associated with an Ad Account that has access to Lens self-serve. Talk to your Snap Account Manager or read more about Ads Manager.

Once a Lens has been submitted as either a Business or Community Lens it cannot be changed. If you'd like to change the type of Lens, you will need to resubmit the Lens through the process again.

After selecting the type of Lens you’re submitting you need to choose which Organization and Ad Account this Lens will belong to. If you don’t see the correct Organizations or Ad Accounts here then your Snapchat account may not have been added with the correct permissions. Talk to your account manager or read more about Ads Manager to resolve this.

It is important to make sure you select the correct Ad Account here, as the Lens cannot be moved out of an Ad Account once submitted. However, you can still submit the same Lens project to another account. See below for additional information.

Once you press Submit Lens you should get a screen confirming your submission. At this point the Lens is being reviewed and this may take some time. An email will be sent when the Lens review is complete.

In Review

You can check the status of your Lens by opening My Lenses and selecting your Lens.

**Tip:**After being reviewed the status of your Lens will be either Action Needed or Invalid.

Don't forget to make sure you are looking at the right account!

Action Needed - Using Your Snapcode

Once your Lens is no longer In Review it should have a status of Action Needed – if it’s Invalid then you have some issues to fix first.

A temporary, unique Snapcode will be generated that will allow you and any of your trusted stakeholders to unlock the Lens and review it.

  • When unlocked the Lens will remain in the Lens Carousel for 1 hour
  • You can scan the Snapcode anytime to unlock the Lens again
  • There is no limit to the number of times the Lens can be unlocked
  • The Snapcode is valid for 1 year – this time resets each time you update the Lens
  • This Snapcode is not for public distribution

Your Lens is in development and is highly confidential. Only share your Snapcodes with trusted individuals belonging to your organization and/or the advertiser.

Invalid - Fixing Your Lens

Each time you submit a new version of your Lens it will run through a review process. If your Lens does not meet the technical guidelines, it may fail and result in your Lens status being Invalid.

Common failure points include memory consumption, texture sizes, and low frame rates. For tips and help please read our guide on Performance and Optimization.

Until your Lens passes review the Snapcode will still only unlock the last valid version of the Lens, if a previous version passed successfully.

Development Cycle

Once you get your Snapcode and have shared with your various stakeholders you will likely start getting feedback for fixes and tweaks. No problem, you can update your Lens as many times as you like.

To update your Lens you follow similar steps to submitting for the first time. Click Submit Lens, confirm the submission and the Lens will transition to “In Review” status.

The confirmation screen will show you details about the Lens you are updating, which includes the Organization and Ad Account. Please double check you are updating the correct Lens as this cannot be undone.

Updating a Lens will not change its Snapcode, so your stakeholders can continue to review the Lens with no interruptions. If you do wish to get a new Snapcode you will have to submit the Lens project as a new Lens, see below.

Update a Different Lens

It is possible to update different Lenses that you’ve previously submitted. This may be required when you are using a single Lens project as a base and are making adjustments across different iterations of the Lens, or perhaps your Lens Studio project is linked to the wrong Lens.

You will be presented with two options. Submit as New Lens and Update an existing Lens.

Click Update an existing Lens and select the Lens from the list that you wish to update. If you belong to more than one organization you have the option to switch between them.

If you don’t see the Lens you’re looking for it may be because you’ve selected the wrong organization or the Lens status is In Review or Finalized. Remember that finalized Lenses cannot ever be updated, see below for more about finalizing Lenses.

After selecting the correct Lens you will be asked to confirm the update.

Submitting as a New Lens

If you need to submit a new version of a finalized Lens, or you want to get a different Snapcode, then you can submit your project as a new Lens. The steps to follow are similar to “Updating a different Lens” above, but instead of selecting  Update an existing Lens you choose Submit as New Lens.

The submission flow will start from the beginning as if you were submitting the Lens for the first time. After it passes the In Review stage you will receive a new Snapcode for your Lens.

Finalize - Commit Lens to Ads Manager

The final step will commit your Lens into Ads Manager where it can be attached to a campaign by the advertiser and distributed to Snapchatters!

After your Lens is finalized it cannot be updated. You will have to submit the project as a new Lens, as described above.

Before you finalize your Lens, make sure you have thoroughly tested it on a variety of devices and have creative sign off from the client. Once a Lens is finalized and it has been sent to Ads Manager it cannot be updated.

If you do need to update later for any reason you can submit the Lens Studio project as a new Lens. This will provide you with a new Snapcode and the opportunity to test and review your content again.

To save yourself some time make sure you read the Performance and Optimization guide and Snap’s Ad Policies before finalizing your Lens. All sponsored Lenses must display a brand name or brand logo and conform to Snap’s Ad Policies. Otherwise, the Lens will be rejected in Ads Manager when it is used in an advertising campaign.

Finalize Your Lens

To begin the finalization process your Lens should have an Action Needed status. Click the blue Finalize for Ads Manager button next to your Lens and follow the prompts.

Your description should be brief and describe the content of the Lens, any triggers it may have, and the intended audience (if you have this information). The more accurate your description, the easier the review process will be.

You will also need to provide a preview video. This is a video snap of the Lens in action. It serves two purposes: it helps the advertiser find the Lens in Ads Manager (it’s the visual representation of the Lens) and it aids our Ad Review team to speed up the review process.

The preview video should trigger any interactions the Lens has and, if it has a world component as well as face, record from both cameras. The video should be no longer than 10 seconds.

Ads Manager

After your Lens is finalized it will be available as a media object in the target Ad Account and ready to turn into a Creative that can be attached to your new campaign.

For more information about Ads Manager please take a look at this helpful overview of Ads Manager.

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