Snap Inc. has unveiled a new project called Creator Marketplace, which allows marketers to connect with lens creators for collaboration on advertisements. The Snapchat app provides influencers and augmented reality experts with the opportunity to partner with companies on branded content and lenses. The company will launch the new Creator Marketplace later this month, initially enabling businesses to partner with a selected group of augmented reality content creators until the end of the year. This feature is expected to expand to include the entire community of creators—beyond those working in augmented reality—by early 2022.
The company stated that advertisers can leverage the expertise of creators within the Snap Lens network to build AR ads without needing to pay for extensive creative resources. The Snap Lens network refers to augmented reality creators who work within the free Lens Studio desktop platform. Advertisers can search the marketplace by location, language, specialty, lens category, or budget. According to Snap, the new marketplace gives brands the chance to collaborate with creators who know the Snapchat generation best for advertising campaigns and sponsorships.
Snap stated that the Creator Marketplace represents the first step in building an expanded solution and product for pairing businesses with creators. The company has been focused on compensating creators in hopes of retaining talent amid fierce competition from Instagram and TikTok. Snapchat provides ways for lens creators to connect with brands, and the company says it will not take a cut from any of these transactions. Notably, the new Creator Marketplace comes after Instagram announced its own set of new monetization tools for influencers, including creator shops, affiliate marketing, and a marketplace for branded content.
Snap revealed that it has created over 128 original series designed for mobile devices, which have been viewed by more than 85 percent of the generation following Millennials in the second half of 2020. The company has also promoted the growth of another content creator-focused feature, Spotlight, which was launched last November and had approximately 125 million visitors by March.
