Snap Leans Into AR Brand Experiences: Q&A With Snap GM Matt McGowan – Alist Daily

Back in 2011, Snapchat was brand new and augmented reality was just beginning to generate buzz as a potential tool to drive consumer engagement. Yet with the launch of Pokémon GO in 2016 and IKEA’s introduction of an AR-powered app in 2017, new consumer-facing applications for AR took center stage.  Today, AR has been adopted by the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, through Snapchat’s Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses, which resulted in 161 million product trials for the brand. “We’re always looking to create moments of product discovery on the channels where our customers spend their time,” notes Amanda Mulligan, Walmart’s director of social commerce. “AR adoption is growing, and Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses allow us to keep pace by enabling lens creation at scale and in an always-on capacity,” she said in Snapchat’s article, assessing the partnership’s success. We spoke with Matt McGowan, Snap’s general manager, about how providing user-friendly AR tools has presented an opportunity for brands and creators. Snap has come a long way in just over a decade. Can you tell us why the company has moved into developing these brand marketing tools? Is Snap still a social media-focused company? It’s been a fun and educational three-plus years for me as
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