Snapchat announced earlier this month a new feature called Geofilters that will add unique filters to photos based on a user’s location. With a quick swipe to the right, users can unlock these filters depending on their current locations and receive a text or graphic sticker overlaying the photo.
So far the new feature has only been available in New York and Los Angeles for testing purposes. During the World Cup, the app offered geofilters for locations in Rio de Janiero, according to TechCrunch. It’s unclear when the feature will be available for other cities.
While Snapchat has said that it is simply excited for users to explore this fun new feature, there is clearly a marketing opportunity for brands and businesses. Based on the introduction video released by Snapchat showing two women shopping at SoulCycle and a couple taking in Disneyland, the possibilities for companies, national parks and any other operation with a specific location to market its brand are obvious. It would be in a brand’s best interest to target millennials, Snapchat’s target demographic, with this tactic.
In fact, the new version of Snapchat with geofilters could be thought of as the millennial version of a postcard. From a marketing perspective, it would make sense for companies to create their own branded filters to leverage this feature. An example in the video shows a woman taking a photo in front of a coffee shop. As soon as she swipes right, a specific filter for the coffee shop appears in the photo.
Snapchat is not getting paid by businesses to feature their filters, according to a spokesperson for the app. Snapchat also was quick to add in its blog that it doesn’t store users’ locations.
