29 Sep What Snap Inc. Means for Marketers
Talk about some big news this past week on the social media stage. Snapchat has changed their name to Snap Inc. and released their first hardware product called “Spectacles”. Big moves for a fairly new social platform! But what do these moves mean for marketers? Let’s find out.
What are Spectacles?
For starters, let’s look at Snap Inc.’s first ever hardware product, Spectacles. These glasses are designed with a built in camera that can record video from a first-person perspective. In a recent blog release, the team at Snap Inc. described the function of these glasses. “Imagine one of your favorite memories. What if you could go back and see that memory the way you experienced it? That’s why we built Spectacles.” Spectacles are expected to cost $129.99 and will be available starting later this fall in three colors (black, teal, and coral).
Snapchat Becomes Snap Inc.
So why did Snapchat become Snap Inc.? According to CEO Evan Spiegel, who wrote about this in a recent blog, the decision to drop “chat” in the name was a result of the expansion of their new product offerings. Before, Snapchat was the only product. Now they’re pushing to develop new products and thus need a name that “goes beyond just one product – but doesn’t lose the familiarity and fun of the brand”. Another additional perk of the name change that Spiegel mentions in his blog is the ease of searching for relevant product information. In his words, “you can search Snapchat and Spectacles for the fun stuff and leave Snap Inc. for the Wall Street crowd”.
What does all this REALLY mean?
For marketers looking to expand their brands to Snapchat, the name change really doesn’t mean a whole lot. Snapchat is still around as a leading social platform for engaging with your audience and giving them the behind the scenes VIP treatment of your brand. The only difference is now it’s a product of Snap Inc. along with Spectacles, rather than being its own brand. The launch of Spectacles also now offers another unique opportunity for content creation. These glasses can help in the production of first-person perspective content that can be shared with your followers on Snapchat.
But what do you think? Are Spectacles a cool new product or a gimmick? Is the name change to Snap Inc. a good move? We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you also need help figuring out how to use Snapchat for your brand, give our team a call. We’d love to help you with your snaps.
