augmented reality

Like most recent events, this year’s Snapchat Summit was adapted virtually; it might seem like a no-brainer for a company whose expertise is in AR and the digital realm—but if anything, this year’s summit has proven Snapchat’s ambition of bridging the gap between between augmented reality, and reality.

If the theme of Snapchat up until now has been “show, don’t tell,” the mantra they’ve adopted moving forward seems to be “experience, don’t show”. What this means for brands is that Snapchat has uniquely positioned itself to allow artists & studios to create unique, branded AR experiences that transcend the digital sphere.

Below we highlighted the features that our AR team is most excited about, as well as how they can be utilized to elevate users’ AR experiences.

These dynamic lenses use real-life locations (whole areas or specific buildings) to create a unified AR experience that different Snapchatters can share, as long as they’re in the same physical space.

In the example, multiple people are creating a mural of different colors on one shared space using multiple phones. This added experiential element creates a unified experience that exists wholly online but that facilitates physical community.

Photo Courtesy of Snapchat

Photo Courtesy of Snapchat

Scan Partners allows the camera to recognize an item and then attaches it to a specific lens. The examples Snapchat used were a plant-identifer that, when clicked, would provide information on how to care for that plant (including links to buy those items).

When Louis Vuitton’s logo is scanned in real life in Snapchat, a virtual door to their latest showroom opens highlighting classic and current collections in a virtual showroom. Too-Faced marked their ‘Born This Way’ product packaging—so when scanned, users can try it on virtually.

Marker lenses eliminate the need to advertise via Snapcode.

SnapML (Machine Learning) lets developers bring their own machine-learning models to power Snap lenses. This allows for the creation of extremely accurate tracking of faces, gestures, feet, and even landmarks such as buildings.

You can see the practical application that Wannaby has used: they created a try-it-on filter that lets users see their newest shoe in a variety of colors (yes, that shoe is AR, not real).

In short, SnapML has destroyed many creative boundaries that previously existed—the new “brand experience” is limited (mostly) by what you can imagine .vs. by technology.

Photo Courtesy of Snapchat

Photo Courtesy of Snapchat

Snapchat is making it easier than ever to integrate call-to-actions within their app and lenses. One example of this is “Places”, which lead to an outside-Snap call to action such as ordering a physical product online, whether it’s that new lipstick or food from their favorite delivery spot! This would be especially crucial for smaller businesses that need to receive local support.

In the example, users can search their favorite restaurants on Snapchat’s in-app map feature. From this search, Snapchatters will have access to price point, reviews, hours, contact information, directions, and nearby community snaps.

If your brand has an existing app, Snapchat will now let you integrate their technology with it in order to create a new layer of interaction with your fans. This is more abstract in thought but can be applicable to any number of brands across any discipline.

Rally Road is an app that is meant for classic car investments but has integrated Snapchat’s CreativeKit to let users purchase shares in rare items and share them with their friends in a unique AR environment.

There are numerous types of kits available, each with their own unique perks:

• AdKit – makes monetizing apps easy with SnapAds
• CreativeKit – allows apps to bring real-time data into Snapchat
• CameraKit – brings the power os Snapchat camera to your apps

Photo Courtesy of Snapchat

If you’re interested leveraging Snapchat for any of the above uses, a qualified creative studio is your best bet, since we know the ins-and-outs of not only best creative practices to create an attractive filter but can also help determine which strategy is the way to go.

We here at Bare Tree Media would love to collaborate with any artist, strategist, or brand who’s just as pumped about these new Snapchat features as we are! You can take a look to see the lenses we’ve already created or contact us below for more information.