Snapchat Spectacles: Everything a marketer needs to know

Just when you thought Instagram had won the social game, Snapchat comes out with an absolute banger.  And, ironically enough, it’s something that might just transform Instagram.

Snapchat, now formally known as Snap Inc., released sunglasses last year with cameras embedded into the frames called Spectacles.  

Spectacles are essentially Go Pros for your face, but they more closely resemble a kind of sexed up Google Glass. They capture 10 second videos from a user’s point of view and then wirelessly upload them to their Snapchat account. The recorded result is so immersive it’s almost chilling.

If you haven’t heard of them you’d be forgiven, they’re yet to launch in Australia. But that’s not to say they’re not here.

One Aussie bloke was so thirsty for a pair he paid for a stranger in LA to fly over with one in his luggage. And coveted Melbourne brand Culture Kings used a pair to capture an in store basketball game they held with rapper Ja Rule.

Culture King’s Insta post earned them a good 39k views and then a further 15k on Facebook. They shoot, they score.

But this is a poor example. Internationally, Spectacles have been doing a lot more.  

Park Hyatt gave Spectacles to staff members and then treated them to stays at some of their most luxurious and exotic hotels. Their footage was then compiled, cut and released on social channels. It was spectacular… (sorry).

Audiences were placed in the driver’s seat, viewing these exotic adventures as though they were watching somebody’s own memories. And even though it was very much an ad campaign, it came across as a fun video experiment. An ad that doesn’t feel like an ad? Now there’s the holy grail of marketing.

The uploaded footage earned the company a whopping MILLION views on Facebook and an additional 15,000 on YouTube.

And it’s not just companies using Spectacles to capture action-packed adventures. Other users have bought Spectacles and gone to ride rollercoasters, ski mountains and even just smash out a game of ping pong.

Snap Inc CEO Evan Spiegal described the technology as an evolution in the way we consume our captured media.

“It’s one thing to see images of an experience you had, but it’s another thing to have an experience of the experience,” Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said in the Wall Street Journal magazine feature.

And look, he may be the boss but he’s sort of right. Spectacles are about the experience and are best used to capture the moments you can’t otherwise save. Riding a rollercoaster, swinging your child in your arms, looking into your fiance’s eyes as you say your wedding vows. What? Too much? Never.

Aussie businesses already make a mint out of consumers snapping, recording and sharing their experiences online. Spectacles will only boost that with a new way for consumers to do what they do best: share.

Unlike GoPros that require an action=packed adventure, Spectacles can be incorporated into almost every experience, and therefore, almost every business.

Spectacles can be used in bars, theme parks or even regular parks with a good looking pooch. The possibilities for content are endless.  Spectacles could capture: tourists patting our koalas, climbing our mountains and sailing our harbours.

They could record cocktail shaking, waiter plating, pinata hitting, banana split splitting… Anything.

Once Aussie users start seeing Spectacle footage popping up around their city, they’ll rush to mimic it or create their own.

Savvy business owners and marketers will do this ahead of time, starting the trend before it trickles down into the mainstream. Gift a pair to an influencer and ask them to visit you, or pop a pair in the hands of a social savvy staff member. Too easy.

Spectacles record footage in a round window on a white background. A circular display might be a bit annoying if you’re accustomed to letterbox content but the open space can also double as the perfect place for branding and hashtags.

Spectacles also record content straight to Snapchat, not your camera roll. Lame.

However, the footage can be saved and uploaded elsewhere. You just need to upload it onto Snapchat, save the footage from there and then re-upload it.

It’s not the most seamless transition but it’s possible.

Since their launch, Spectacles have been largely restricted to being sold out of gimmicky vending machines called Snapbots. Snapbots have been carted around the US and UK in hopes of creating a real sense of exclusivity.

And yeah, okay, it’s a pretty cool idea…  For everyone not on our island home.

Snap Inc. is yet to announce an Australian launch date but you can buy them online and have them shipped over.

Harrods sells them for $219 AUD in their international store and will deliver them to Aussie hands for a moderate $41 AUD and a 10 – 12 day waiting period (snore).

Or you can hit up this bloke on Gumtree who’s selling a pair for $220. Don’t worry, he says he’s open to negotiation. I’ll let you decide what you’re willing to offer.