Questions have been raised regarding the platform’s shifting augmented reality (AR) strategy as a result of Snapchat’s move to shut down its AR Enterprise segment.
This subsidiary, which was established in April 2023, sought to let companies use Snapchat’s technology for augmented reality into their own products. The company has found it more difficult to differentiate its offering, according to a message from CEO Evan Spiegel, due to the expenditure required to expand AR technologies to suit the demands of retail customers and the emergence of generative AI.
By making the change, Snapchat is resolute in its commitment to continuing to fund its AR experiences for consumers and marketers. According to Anmol Malhotra, head of sports partnerships at Snap Inc., existing agreements with well-known sponsors are unlikely to be impacted, including those with American Airlines and the LA Rams at SoFi Stadium for the ongoing NFL campaign. LA Rams declined to speak on this report, and American Airlines did not reply to an inquiry for feedback.
He said that his team is not downplaying the significance. Elaborating further, Malhotra said that the team are strategically redistributing assets to enhance the core AR experiences offered to customers on Snapchat and to enhance its endeavours in AR-based advertising.
Early strategies for the business unit at Snap Inc. concentrated on mobile AR technology, but as time went on, the company discovered it needed to make gradual investments in promoting web-based AR, which is both technically challenging and less engaging for its patrons, based on a memo from CEO Evan Spiegel to Snap Inc. staff on September 27.
The development of generative artificial intelligence has also increased demand for AR try-on experiences, rendering it more challenging for Snapchat to distinguish its product.
Snapchat has already collaborated with L’Oréal, a leading cosmetics company, and high-profile movies like Black Adam and Shazam to create AR content.
According to Jeremy Ekes, Senior Director, Client Strategy and Service, January Digital, Snap’s AR technology has brought forth opportunities for its clients to develop a unique consumer experience they cannot provide with any rival platform, like putting on Carhartt’s beanie, available in different colours, virtually. It has served as a way to cut through the noise of competing advertisements and appear in a void within its customers’ grouping.
It is hardly surprising that the Enterprise AR service has trouble scaling, according to Ekes, since AR experiences are not usually prioritised by businesses when making financial decisions. Except for companies with enormous funds, the majority of companies have more important issues to deal with. With the most recent development in generative AI, numerous other attractive products have risen to the top of advertisers’ priority lists in the past few months.
As previously reported on Digiday, because of the platform’s alleged constraints, marketers are becoming more reluctant to spend their advertising dollars on Snapchat. Anthony Hamell, executive director of digital and social at TBWAChiatDay NY, stated that simultaneously, advertising expenditures have been constrained and have come under increased scrutiny lately, forcing marketers to concentrate on tried-and-true avenues as opposed to innovative ones like augmented reality.
According to Brendan Gahan, chief social officer and partner of Mekanism, companies have been putting more importance on performance advertising in an era characterised by financial volatility. Second-tier platforms and novel media have surely suffered as a consequence. The future of AR is certainly bright, in his opinion, and more developments are expected in the future.
