Snapchat Ads connection

What it reads

For each connected ad account, Growth Dept MTA reads spend, impressions and swipes (Snapchat's clicks) by ad and day, with campaigns, ad squads and ads. Dates follow the ad account's time zone.

It also reads hourly spend, view-through purchases with their value, and Snapchat's own reported purchases and value under its 28-day swipe and 1-day view windows, which fill the Snapchat platform-reported columns. The top snap's image, or the video's thumbnail, becomes the ad's thumbnail.

A pull runs about once an hour and re-reads the last 7 days, and a nightly pull re-reads the last 30. Each pull replaces the rows for its window, so days that Snapchat restates end up matching Snapchat. Spend is converted to the brand's currency as it arrives, at the European Central Bank rate for each day.

Connecting

1. Sign in to Growth Dept MTA as an owner or admin of the brand's organization. Other members can see Settings > Connections but cannot change it.
2. Open Settings > Connections and click Connect on the Snapchat Ads card.
3. Snapchat shows its own sign-in and permission screen. Sign in as a Snapchat user who can see the ad accounts you want, and approve the request. The user needs at least the Reports role on each ad account. The request is for snapchat-marketing-api.
4. Back in Growth Dept MTA, the page lists every ad account that login reaches. Tick the ones that belong to this brand and click Connect.
5. Each account you chose appears on the card, and a backfill starts over the brand's lookback window (Settings > Lookback window), or as far back as Snapchat keeps data if that is shorter. Scheduled pulls take over from there.

To add accounts later, click Connect beside Link an additional ad account on the same card. If the list comes up empty, the login you used reaches no ad accounts: connect again as a user who has access to them.

If you have been sending Snapchat Ads spend through the spend API or a spreadsheet, remove those rows before you connect. They carry their own account ID, so they would be counted on top of the connected account's spend. Settings > Data Spreadsheets lists each upload. Once the connection is live, the spend API and spreadsheets refuse new Snapchat Ads rows.

If the card says “Snapchat Ads connection is not set up on this server yet.”, the Connect button stays off until Growth Dept registers its Snapchat app. Email support@growthdept.ai if you see it.

Tracking parameters

Add these to the web URL of each Snap ad. Snapchat also adds its own click ID, ScCid. Settings > UTM guide in Growth Dept MTA shows the same string with a copy button.

utm_source=snapchat&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=<campaign name>&utm_term=<ad squad name>&utm_content=<ad name>

Limits

• Growth Dept MTA only reads from Snapchat. It does not change campaigns, budgets or ads.
• Snapchat's reported conversions are Snapchat's own credit, under Snapchat's attribution settings. They fill the Snapchat platform-reported columns and are not part of Growth Dept MTA's attribution.
• If Snapchat rejects the stored token, or refuses to refresh it, the account's row on the card shows the error, and the account has to be connected again.

Disconnecting

Each linked account has its own Disconnect button in its row on the Snapchat Ads card. Only owners and admins can use it. After you confirm:

• Syncing for that account stops.
• The stored access token is deleted.
• Data already pulled stays in your reports.

Connecting the account again later starts a new backfill.