Snapchat’s Canadian content partner program has grown by more than 400% over the past year. The number of episodes published daily by Canadian media partners on Snapchat saw an increase of more than 400%

That second figure is a particular point of pride for Nader Mohamed (pictured, above). Since joining the company just over a year ago as Snap’s first Canadian media partnerships lead, he has been focused on bringing Canadian Snapchatters more diverse and engaging Canadian content than ever before.

Snapchat’s content partner program enlists creators – be they influencers or established media companies – to create short-form videos for the platform’s Discover interface, running a variety of ad formats within the shows to monetize it for both the platform and the company. In Canada, partners include Corus, Bell Media, CBC, The Globe and Mail, Just For Laughs, The Junos, BlogTO, Diply, Goalcast, WatchMojo and Viral Nation.

The company’s financial results in Q3 told a story that was beginning to feel familiar (the company’s full-year results are set for release on Jan. 31). Daily active users increased 19% year-over-year (topping 100 million in North America for the first time), helping to drive 6% growth in revenue, but it ended the quarter with a $360 million USD loss, compared to $72 million the previous year. However, in this case, $155 million USD was a restructuring charge related to severance, lease exits and other related charges – in September, the company laid off more than 1,200 staff as it ended several programs in an effort to scale back costs and focus on the biggest contributors to its strategic priorities.

Expanding the partner ecosystem is part of those priorities, especially when it comes to growing its audience in international markets and creating long-term community growth. Even though the Originals division was among the investments Snap cut last year, Mohamed says media partners are a source of content that addresses a key need for users, who want to feel that the app and feed was made for them.

“We know just how diverse and innovative the Canadian media ecosystem is, and always want to prioritize the part of the investment we made in 2021 to ensure that any publishers have a platform on Snapchat to publish their content, and to be compensated through the agreement of the partner,” he says.

When he joined the company, Mohamed had roughly 10 media partners. Snap now has a roster of over 80 publishing content, some of which are posting two to three times a week. Beyond being a growth opportunity for Snap, he says the approach to monetizing content in partnership with media companies helps ensure ad revenue coming from Canadian advertisers is going back into the economy.

“When a Canadian advertiser decides to spend money on advertising on Snapchat, they want to know their ad spend is being put towards a Canadian media company,” Mohamed says. “With the growth we’ve seen just the past year, it’s very clear that it’s a good business decision for us to have done that – not only as a business but also just the user experience for Canadians.”

Snapchat has a young but growing audience around the world with over 360 million daily active users. In Canada alone, it reaches over 10 million users. Snapchat has always been a platform for young people and reaches over 75% of 13-to-34 year-olds in over 20 markets. That’s a market that’s attractive both for advertisers and media partners.

“We still own the Gen Z group,” Mohamed says. In Canada, 80% of users are 13 to 24 years old. But two-thirds are18 to 34, which also provides opportunities for advertisers looking to reach consumers making major life decisions, such as about major households purchases or having kids. “We see our audience continuing to age up with the platform as the platform evolves, develops, and mature.”