Ready set GOAL!!! Snapchat is kicking the pre-game season off with an exciting start as Snapchat is transforming how football fans and Snapchatters around the world experience, celebrate, and watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup through incredible game highlights and immersive Augmented Reality experiences.
On the official Snapchat newsroom, the tech giant announced a range of new features to help fans in over 30 markets around the world engage with the 2022 World Cup. Most of the new features revolve around their new augmented reality technology that includes a variety of different lenses including team-based AR filters, and new AR Try-On features so that you can see what you’d look like in each team’s kit, watch live updates overlays to keep you informed.
“We’re thrilled to cover the biggest global sporting event of the year across all of Snapchat – with dedicated custom AR experiences and comprehensive content coverage that will include localized highlights from every game in over 30 countries. We can’t wait to deliver Snapchatters the ultimate fan experience around the World Cup and see the creativity of our community on full display.”
— Anmol Malhotra, Director of Sports Partnerships, Snap Inc.
Snapchat’s augmented reality elevates virtual fan experiences to a new level of digital engagement
First and foremost, Snapchat is launching a range of new selfie lenses that overlay users’ faces with the colours and flags of their supporting teams. Snap’s new face-paint-inspired team colour Lenses, provide a simple way to show your support in the app or creatively play around with features between friends.
According to their statement, Snap mentioned that all of the participating teams will have their own augmented reality lenses, which will enable all supporters of the qualified teams to display their team colours in an interactive and engaging way.
As per Snapchat:
- Global AR Lenses are now live on Snapchat in teams’ Public Profiles and will be promoted to coincide with the various opening games.
- Official Lenses for the national teams include U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT), France, Belgium, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Spain.
- Additional organic Lenses will be promoted for: Brazil, Netherlands, Argentina Canada, Portugal, Germany, and Australia
Moreover, the second addition to the new augmented reality features is the launch of a new experience called ‘Live Garment Transfer Lenses’ which will enable users to virtually try on each participating team’s uniform.
Live Garment Transfer Lenses utilize the latest clothing simulation technology, to provide a more realistic depiction of what each clothing item would look like on you, shifting as you move, and aligning with your body, to give you a much better sense of presence within the experience.
Snap’s also launching a Global Match Data Lens, which will be dynamically updated with live match data visualizations during the tournament.
“The experience includes selfie and world modes for Snapchatters to virtually explore, share, and celebrate notable stats and scores with their friends.”
Snap’s also added new themed clothing options for your Bitmoji characters, as another means to get into the spirit of the tournament.
There are also new stickers and Filters to adorn your Snaps, while Snapchat will also present a range of highlights within Discover programming, helping to keep users engaged with the latest World Cup content.
Sports has become a key area of growth for Snap, with over 200 million Snapchat users engaging with sports content in the app in 2021. Snap also sees sports as a potential opportunity to boost its connection with older audiences, which is another key way that it can maximize its potential, both in regards to advertiser appeal and general growth.
The World Cup will be a huge event for all platforms, in terms of driving engagement – and as such, you can expect to see a lot more themed tie-in features announced in the lead-up to the event, which begins next week.
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