3 Reasons Why Footwear Brands Should Care About Snapchat’s Spectacles
Margaret Sutherlin
Associate Editor
Snapchat Spectacles have been the biggest buzz in tech this week and experts say fashion brands should be paying attention.
The new Spectacles produced by Snap Inc. (the new name for Snapchat’s company) will record up to 10 seconds of video from a first person vantage point (much like a Go-Pro). The camera in Spectacle also films a more complete view of the scene, acting more like a human eye than a traditional lens on a phone. The glasses will retail for $129.99, not too far off price point wise from many designer sunglasses.
“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,” the company said in a post online.
Experts say fashion should be paying attention to the Spectacles, and not just because it’s a new technology, but because it could signal new developments for the widely popular app and company.
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1. Emotional Brand Building
Snapchat opened the door into snippets of the lives of celebrities and gave users an authentic, unfiltered and immediate access to exclusive people and events where fans had never been before. As fashion brands seek to keep a global audience engaged, this is one way to give users another exclusive view, and in some ways tease to stay tuned to the brand.
“It’s a Go-Pro mentality being able to watch videos from the first person perspective. You have that emotional connection of a memory and … get just a sense of ‘Well, this is what it might be like,’ ” said Adam Durfee, social strategy director at digital marketing firm Wallaroo Media and manager of Snapchat-focused firm ThatsASnap.com. He said that with the first-person perspective at fashion week or backstage, it would be a chance to bring people into the conversation and build brand loyalty.
2. Made to be Worn, Big Fashion Opportunity
First and foremost, these glasses are meant to look cool and meant to be a tech accessory integrated into user lives like the Fitbit or Apple Watch. “I think the main function of the glasses will be to capture content without having to look away,” said Rónan Kenny, director of experience design at RóSo&Co, an agency specializing in virtual and augmented reality. “This will be particularly useful for Snappers who want to keep focus during fashion shows or who spot someone on the street before they have time to get out their phone.”
The cool retro styling could down the road be an opportunity for personalization that other headsets such as Google Glass didn’t allow.
3. Future of Snap Inc.
This is just a step for Snap Inc., and experts say watch the brand to see if it releases more hardware after testing out the Spectacle on the market. If it meets demand, there could be a future for cameras and more augmented reality products.
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