The Problem With Puppies
How to overcome the perils of homogenous media
Is ephemeral social media finally reaching a tipping point? Maybe — but done right, disappearing media is still a powerful way to leave a lasting impression.
Have Social Apps Gone Too Far?
By design, Snapchat was made for expression. When you open Snapchat, you don’t see a feed, you’re immediately presented with a camera, almost begging you to take a pic. And with drawing tools and stickers, your pics and videos can become mini “masterpieces.”
But Snapchat’s biggest hit are lenses, which are unique to their platform. They’re interactive, funny, social (try it with a friend, they say!) and insanely popular. So popular that I’m calling it “The Puppy Problem.”
By now you’ve seen the puppy lens. You’ve seen it, like, a million times and it’s starting to hurt. You’ve reached “peak puppy.”
The Rise of Homogeneous Media
What started as an innovative way for users to interact with a social medium and produce personal content has turned into sea of user-generated sameness. The overuse of the puppy lens and its flower crown descendant have become so extreme, they have actually become the sources of memes and jokes (and not very nice ones at that).
And it’s not just Snapchat. Those Instagram filters we love so much? Regular Instagram users can identify from the end product which filters were used to create it. This is a line from the pop song “#SELFIE by The Chainsmokers: “Can you guys help me pick a filter? I don’t know if I should go with XX Pro or Valencia.”
These functionalities have become so pervasive, popular, and even commoditized that we’re at a point in our culture where it’s a bigger deal to go #nofilter than it is to extensively and precisely edit an image before posting.
What a time to be alive.
The Opportunity for Authenticity
While puppies and tan-inducing filters may continue to swarm feeds, there’s a sponsored silver lining for brands. The growing suite of ad units give marketers a lot of freedom to produce something unique and true to their brand while creating a lasting impression (in spite of the ephemeral nature of the platforms).
Some brands capitalize on cultural events and take advantage of the interactivity of lenses to expose users to new products at launch. You can literally put the product on your face. Not bad, not bad. And more specifically, the entertainment industry has embraced this feature to promote premieres and larger releases.
This past May, Taco Bell took advantage of a holiday to try out a lens. To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the chain created the now iconic taco face Snapchat lens, viewed 224 million times. Its beauty was in its weirdness and its timeliness. Though a silly novelty, the lens fit right in with the identity already playing out across Taco Bell’s other channels, and took advantage of an event relevant to its young audience.
In a more practical but still impressive approach, beauty brands Urban Decay and Benefit Cosmetics found success with lenses that treat users to a makeover. Users were able to virtually experience real products timed with those products’ launch. Blending function and creativity, both cosmetics brands found a platform and marketing fit.
The experimentations with the lens feature paid off. Urban Decay saw followings increase on Twitter and Instagram while the lens was active. Benefit noted users were cross-sharing channel to channel. The benefits don’t seem to be short-lived: new followers that stick around mean more opportunities to engage and build relationships over time.
And in the entertainment world, many major movie releases are ushered in with a Snapchat lens. One of the most noteworthy uses came with the premiere of “X-Men: Apocalypse.” Leading up to the release, 20th Century Fox (a Weber Shandwick client) took over the entire Lens menu, replacing the typical face-swaps for a day. Users were exposed to nine different characters from the film, with the movie title and branding.
The homogenization of user-generated content through the “lens” of filters has its upside for brands, if they understand the when and why. We’ve seen humor and novelty, but an opportunity exists to see something with real emotional resonance and deep personal impact.
The challenge will lie in creating something both true to your brand and relevant to a fleeting moment in time.
Here’s my nifty “How to Crush It” guide on today’s ephemeral social media.
“How to Crush It” Guide
INTERACT. When designing for the lens feature, the creative needs to be interactive for the user, allowing them to have an individual and personal experience with the content. Think about the animation piece in relation to your target audience: what do you want the lens to do? You have three seconds or less to grab their attention before they swipe away. Does your engagement draw your audience in with its movement and/or expression?
VISUALLY ENGAGE. It also needs to look good. Simple as that — the content should be visually engaging and something a person would want to use and spread. Let’s be real, some of those filters and lenses are downright horrifying. Make sure the creative evokes your intended emotional response. Is it humor you’re seeking? If so, how can you make something witty or ridiculous? Is it joy you’re seeking? How can you make something novel, useful and delightful? What makes sense for your brand’s values?
RESONATE. And don’t forget, it’s going to be available for everyone on the platform so it should resonate with as many people as possible. Consider your lenses’ appeal across gender, race, ethnicity, age (50% of Snapchat’s new users are over 25), and culture. Remember, Snapchat targets a wide-range of people; as of Fall 2015, a Harvard study of young Americans had 25% of the platform identifying as black, 34% as hispanic, and 40% as white. The users are global, with a high penetration in Europe, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S., and growing in Asia. While the platform skews young and female now, that’s changing over time.
How will your brand leave a lasting impression?
NBD. You got this.
