Snap and Live Nation tie-up for AR concert experiences

Snap has linked a multi-year partnership with Live Nation to create a deeper connection between artists and fans through custom-built, immersive AR. From Lollapalooza in Chicago and Wireless Festival in London, to Rolling Loud in Miami and The Governors Ball in New York, an AR experience will be offered to attendees through Snap AR, starting with Electric Daisy Carnival next month.

While Snap was unable to disclose the monetary value of the partnership, APAC GM Kathryn Carter told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that fans will be able to open the Snapchat Camera at select concerts for AR experiences. These include trying on merchandise, finding friends, and discovering exclusive landmarks around the festival grounds. Snap is currently working similar partnerships for Asia.

Meanwhile, Snap will also roll out a pocket-sized camera named Pixy which is able to fly a few feet above its owner to capture photos and videos before landing in the users' palm, Reuters reported. Pixy will be sold in the US and France and is expected to cost US$230.

Adding on to its AR prowess is the newly launched Dress Up, which beefs up its AR shopping Lenses. Available in Lens Explore, Dress up invites users to browse, discover, and share new looks from around the world. Snapchatters can also easily return to the products they love because Snap has enabled the ability to update user shopping preferences in profile settings. According to Snap, this will be the first dedicated surface for fashion experiences on the app.

At the same time, Snap's Camera Kit for AR Shopping brings Snaps' try-on Lenses into retailers and brands' product detail pages to enhance the digital shopping experience for their customers. Camera Kit for AR Shopping works across Android and iOS, and will soon work on websites too. Snap has also introduced its Snap 3D Asset Manager which will enable brands to create Shopping Lenses in seconds at no additional cost. Brands can also now request, manage, and optimise 3D models for any product in their catalogue. According to Snap, this will increase conversions and reduce returns.

As of January 2021, more than 250 million Snapchat users have engaged with AR shopping Lenses more than five billion times, the company said. Carter told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it recently worked with Crypto.com to create awareness around the Super Bowl. For this execution, Crypto.com wanted to amplify its Super Bowl commercial across media and transport people to Lebron James’ bedroom in 2003. To do so, it tapped into the unique power of Snap AR to create immersive experiences to develop a Portal Lens experience where Snapchatters could walk around and interact with various elements in Lebron’s room.

Earlier this year, Snap also tied up with Kaja Beauty to allow consumers to shop for the perfect lipstick shade in AR, just in time for Valentine's Day. Other new initiatives launched at the recent Snap Partner Summit 2022 include Lens Cloud, storage services, location services, and dual mode editing tools. 

The company opened its office in Singapore in 2020 as part of its Asia expansion plans. This year, it beefed up its creative expertise with Gareth Leeding as APAC head of creative strategy, making him Snap's first dedicated creative leader in the region.

Carter was unable to share its creative plan for 2022, only stating that it has "lots coming up". She was also unable to provide specific user statistics for Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia but shared that the company is "seeing a strong growth momentum" in those markets.

Snap witnessed a 38% revenue increase to US$1,063 million for Q1 2022 compared to the prior year. Net loss was US$360 million, compared to US$287 million in the prior year. CEO Evan Spiegel said its first quarter results reflect the underlying momentum in its business through a challenging operating environment as it groew its communit 18% year-over-year to reach 332 million, and grew its revenue. "We remain focused on providing value for our growing community, delivering ROI for our advertising partners, and investing against our enormous opportunity in AR," he added.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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