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posted by martyb on Friday November 02 2018, @05:53PM   Printer-friendly
from the I-see-what-you-didn't-do-there dept.

Snapchat's PR firm sues influencer for not promoting Spectacles on Instagram

Influencer marketing could get a lot more accountable if Snapchat's PR firm wins this lawsuit. Snapchat hoped that social media stars promoting v2 of its Spectacles camera sunglasses on its biggest competitor could boost interest after it only sold 220,000 of v1 and had to take a $40 million write-off. Instead, Snap comes off looking a little desperate to make Spectacles seem cool.

Snap Inc. commissioned its public relations firm PR Consulting (real imaginative) to buy it an influencer marketing campaign on Instagram. The firm struck a deal with Grown-ish actor Luka Sabbat after he was seen cavorting with Kourtney Kardashian. Sabbat got paid $45,000 up front with the promise of another $15,000 to post himself donning Spectacles on Instagram.

He was contracted to make one Instagram feed post and three Stories posts with him wearing Specs, plus be photographed wearing them in public at Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks. He was supposed to add swipe-up-to-buy links to two of those Story posts, get all the posts pre-approved with PRC, and send it analytics metrics about their performance.

But Sabbat skipped out on two of the Stories, one of the swipe-ups, the photo shoots, the pre-approvals and the analytics. So as Variety's Gene Maddaus first reported, PRC is suing Sabbat to recoup the $45,000 it already paid plus another $45,000 in damages.

The lawsuit might give Spectacles more exposure than Mr. Sabbat would have.

Also at Business Insider, Engadget, and Entrepreneur.

Previously: Snapchat's Spectacles: A Bad Idea in Hindsight
Snapchat Takes a Second Shot at Wearable Camera "Spectacles"
Snap Gives Spectacles a Face Lift to Look More Like Traditional Sunglasses


Original Submission

Related Stories

Snapchat's Spectacles: A Bad Idea in Hindsight 8 comments

Snap's take on smartglasses has reportedly failed to live up to expectations:

A year ago, Snapchat was so excited about its first hardware product that it renamed itself Snap Inc. With the launch of Spectacles, CEO Evan Spiegel decided, the company would no longer be defined solely by the Snapchat app. It was not a social media company, he told the Wall Street Journal, but a camera company. Internet-connected photography, he philosophized, necessitated a "a reinvention of the camera."

Yeah, not so much. Citing "two people close to the company," the Information reported Monday that Snap had "badly overestimated demand" and now has "hundreds of thousands of unsold units sitting in warehouses, either fully assembled or in parts." This comes just weeks after Spiegel said at a Vanity Fair summit that Spectacles sales had "exceeded our expectations," topping 150,000. If the Information's reporting is accurate, then Spiegel's claim, well ... isn't. (A Snap spokesperson declined my request for comment.)

Regardless of who's telling the truth, it already seemed clear from Snap's first two earnings reports that Spectacles were fizzling. As Business Insider pointed out in August, the company reported just $5.4 million in "other" revenue in its second quarter, down from $8.3 million in its first quarter. Spectacles are presumed to make up the bulk of revenue in this category. It's one thing to only sell 150,000 of a product in its first year, as long as sales are growing. If they're already tailing off, that suggests the product might be doomed.

The devices let users record 10-30 seconds of video at a time. They are transferred to a smartphone wirelessly and can then be uploaded to Snapchat.

Snapchat Takes a Second Shot at Wearable Camera "Spectacles" 10 comments

Despite disappointing results for its first (test?) run, Snap(chat) has released a second generation of its Spectacles wearable camera:

Snap today released the next generation of Spectacles, its wearable camera, with new features for taking photos and water resistance. The sunglasses, which have the same striking form as the first-generation model, have been slimmed down and now come in three jewel tones: onyx (black), ruby (red), and sapphire (blue). They're available to order starting today at Spectacles.com for $150 — $20 more than the previous model.

If you've followed the story of Spectacles so far, you know that the first version proved to be a costly misstep for Snap Inc. Although reviewers were generally impressed with their whimsical design, Snap made far more units than the 150,000 or so that it ultimately sold. The company wrote down nearly $40 million in merchandise, and laid off about a dozen people.

Even worse, from the company's perspective, is that people who bought Spectacles didn't use them for very long. According to Business Insider, less than half of users continued to use Spectacles a month after buying them. They were presented as the future of communication, but the first iteration of Spectacles felt more like a toy — a relatively cheap novelty that people used a handful of times before stuffing into a drawer.

Also at TechCrunch, The Guardian, Adweek, and Macworld.


Original Submission

Snap Gives Spectacles a Face Lift to Look More Like Traditional Sunglasses 11 comments

The company formerly known as Snapchat is launching new styles for its wearable camera glasses:

If the main hangup that's kept you from purchasing Snap's Spectacles has been their design, two new models that the company is introducing today might eliminate those hesitations. Snap has just announced the new Veronica and Nico styles of Spectacles 2. They contain all the same features and recording quality improvements as the model first introduced in April, but this time inside a more traditional look. It maybe won't be quite so obvious that you're wearing Spectacles anymore.

The new models of Spectacles are also different in a couple of other ways: they've got polarized lenses, and they come with a nondescript, black "semi-soft" case instead of the bright yellow hard case you get with the original Spectacles 2. Both the Veronica and Nico styles are available starting today for $199 in "limited quantities" at launch. This fall, they'll also be sold at select Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus stores in the US and a variety of retailers in Europe. And like before, Snap's partner Lensabl will let customers order prescription lenses for their glasses. Both models are only available in black for the time being.

Snap says that since the introduction of Spectacles 2, users have been posting, on average, 40 percent more photos and videos captured with the glasses. The company has also made it easier to share that content on other platforms outside Snapchat by adding automatic camera roll saves and by allowing users to export video in more conventional square and horizontal formats.

Check the article for several images of models looking cheerful while wearing the device.

Also at Engadget and TechCrunch.

Previously: Snapchat's Spectacles: A Bad Idea in Hindsight
Snapchat Takes a Second Shot at Wearable Camera "Spectacles"


Original Submission

Tencent is Launching its Own Version of Snap Spectacles 8 comments

Tencent this week unveiled its answer to the video-recording sunglasses, which, you'll notice, bear a striking resemblance to Snap's Spectacles.

Called the Weishi smartglasses, Tencent's wearable camera sports a lens in the front corner that allows users to film from a first-person perspective. Thankfully, the Chinese gaming and social giant has not made the mistake of Snap's first-generation Spectacles, which highlighted the camera with a conspicuous yellow ring.

[...] The purpose behind Tencent's new gadget is implicit in its name. Weishi, which means "micro videos" in Chinese, is also the name of the short-video sharing app that Tencent has been aggressively promoting in recent months to catch up with market dominators TikTok and Kuaishou.

(source: TechCrunch)

Related: Snapchat Takes a Second Shot at Wearable Camera "Spectacles"
Snap Gives Spectacles a Face Lift to Look More Like Traditional Sunglasses
Instagram "Influencer" Sued for $90,000 for Not Sufficiently Sporting Snapchat's Spectacles


Original Submission

Snap Announces Spectacles 3, With More Than Doubled Price 9 comments

Snap announces Spectacles 3 with an updated design and a second HD camera

Snap today announced Spectacles 3, a redesigned version of its augmented reality sunglasses with a sleek new design and an added HD camera to create depth perception. The glasses, which the company has positioned as a limited release, represent Snap's latest effort to build a new computing platform centered on the face. They will go on sale on Spectacles.com in November for $380.

That makes them more than twice as expensive as last year's model, which cost $150. Snap executives say the higher-end version is meant to appeal to a smaller group of "fashion-forward" creative types. It may also be designed to recoup more of its manufacturing costs for the famously money-losing product; Snapchat wrote down nearly $40 million in costs associated with the first version of the glasses after wildly overestimating demand.

The high price of Spectacles 3 will likely limit their appeal, particularly among the high school and college-age students who make up Snapchat's core user base. A Snap spokesperson said this year's model represented a necessary investment in the platform. The company has to figure out a way to do AR computing right, the logic goes, before it can do it cheaply.

Not quite VR180 given the 1216×1216 video.

Previously: Snapchat's Spectacles: A Bad Idea in Hindsight
Snapchat Takes a Second Shot at Wearable Camera "Spectacles"
Snap Gives Spectacles a Face Lift to Look More Like Traditional Sunglasses
Instagram "Influencer" Sued for $90,000 for Not Sufficiently Sporting Snapchat's Spectacles
Snap Will Reportedly Release AR-Enabled Spectacles With Dual Cameras


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 4, Touché) by hemocyanin on Friday November 02 2018, @06:05PM (1 child)

    by hemocyanin (186) on Friday November 02 2018, @06:05PM (#756968) Journal

    Get $45k to do basically nothing AND still fuck it up? idjit

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 02 2018, @06:23PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 02 2018, @06:23PM (#756984)

      Not a moron, "influencer", hahahaha!

  • (Score: 1) by hellcat on Friday November 02 2018, @06:06PM (2 children)

    by hellcat (2832) Subscriber Badge on Friday November 02 2018, @06:06PM (#756969) Homepage

    I never would have heard of these things if it hadn't been for the lawsuit.

    Heck, maybe the whole thing is a setup anyway. They are *pretend* suing because they knew it would leverage their lame campaign.

    While you're here, give soy some €$£!

    * PT Barnum. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/there-is-no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity.html [phrases.org.uk]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 02 2018, @06:21PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 02 2018, @06:21PM (#756983)

      there-is-no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity

      I'm not sure Gab.com agrees.

      • (Score: 0, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Friday November 02 2018, @07:02PM

        by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Friday November 02 2018, @07:02PM (#757011) Homepage Journal

        I'm sure they do. Because they said so. They said, "you have all just made Gab a nationally recognized brand." So many folks hearing about Gab for the first time. Because of the shooting at the so-called synagogue in Pittsburgh. It's not really a synagogue. And they're not really Jewish. Not according to the top guys in Israel that decide. And by the way, if they had a gun-adept security guard, that one would have turned out much better. I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris. They love me in Pittsburgh. And we love Gab. Because they turned all their Cyber over to our wonderful Law Enforcement. Unlike certain websites!!!

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by bob_super on Friday November 02 2018, @07:01PM (2 children)

    by bob_super (1357) on Friday November 02 2018, @07:01PM (#757009)

    Even people paid handsomely to wear those things in very controlled settings ... don't want to.

    Maybe that's a hint that they can save a whole lot of future writeoffs by giving up now.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday November 02 2018, @07:04PM (1 child)

      by bob_super (1357) on Friday November 02 2018, @07:04PM (#757012)

      *I-shouldn't-get-this-wrong title typo

      • (Score: 2) by Hyperturtle on Saturday November 03 2018, @02:33PM

        by Hyperturtle (2824) on Saturday November 03 2018, @02:33PM (#757289)

        That's OK Bob--you actually increased my morale because you wrote what a short, but insightful, lesson of morality.

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by ikanreed on Friday November 02 2018, @07:24PM (4 children)

    by ikanreed (3164) Subscriber Badge on Friday November 02 2018, @07:24PM (#757022) Journal

    It's large amounts of money dumped into an effort constantly trying to manipulate you.

    Stay off any site with more than 1,000 regular users, tbh.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Osamabobama on Friday November 02 2018, @10:29PM

      by Osamabobama (5842) on Friday November 02 2018, @10:29PM (#757110)

      What's the local count of regular users?

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
    • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday November 02 2018, @10:52PM

      by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Friday November 02 2018, @10:52PM (#757118) Journal

      Wish I could +6 you.

      --
      This sig for rent.
    • (Score: 2) by darkfeline on Sunday November 04 2018, @03:28AM (1 child)

      by darkfeline (1030) on Sunday November 04 2018, @03:28AM (#757497) Homepage

      News flash: that's what it means to be in a society. You try to manipulate society, and society tries to manipulate you. Natural selection has deemed it effective. You're welcome to opt out, if you can find a chunk of land that hasn't been claimed by a society with a large army backing that claim. Oh wait, maybe that's why being part of society is beneficial.

      --
      Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
      • (Score: 2) by ikanreed on Monday November 05 2018, @04:10AM

        by ikanreed (3164) Subscriber Badge on Monday November 05 2018, @04:10AM (#757845) Journal

        Ah yes, the long natural history of...

        targetted facebook ads?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 02 2018, @07:38PM (9 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 02 2018, @07:38PM (#757025)

    Is this a story because it involves social media, or because it mentions a Kardashian?

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by isostatic on Friday November 02 2018, @07:43PM (1 child)

      by isostatic (365) on Friday November 02 2018, @07:43PM (#757027) Journal

      Star Trek is always on topic for SN, all stories about Cardassians should be accepted

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 03 2018, @09:36AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 03 2018, @09:36AM (#757224)

        They both are willing to change their appearance or gender in order to garner more prestige in their society :)

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Friday November 02 2018, @07:46PM (6 children)

      by bob_super (1357) on Friday November 02 2018, @07:46PM (#757030)

      Because marketing people calculated people are so stupid that 4 instagram posts showcasing their product can be worth $45k.
      Tell you a lot about advertising and its targets.

      Also, it's good to be "famous", regardless of why.

      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by tangomargarine on Friday November 02 2018, @08:34PM (5 children)

        by tangomargarine (667) on Friday November 02 2018, @08:34PM (#757061)

        Because marketing people calculated people are so stupid that 4 instagram posts showcasing their product can be worth $45k.
        Tell you a lot about advertising and its targets.

        Sometimes I think advertising is the only thing supporting the U.S. economy; if marketeers suddenly realized that the average Joe ignored ads, the entire country would collapse in a matter of weeks.

        --
        "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday November 02 2018, @09:28PM (1 child)

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday November 02 2018, @09:28PM (#757084) Journal

          I'm amazed that GOOG has managed to keep growing over time [ycharts.com], mostly on the back of advertising.

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Unixnut on Friday November 02 2018, @09:50PM

            by Unixnut (5779) on Friday November 02 2018, @09:50PM (#757094)

            I thought it was primarily by cheap debt. buying up and integrating start ups with good ideas (i.e. growth by acquisition), and the rumours they are financially backed by intelligence agencies, precisely because they are so good at mass surveillance and data collection (and by my understanding, are not as restricted in their spying as a government agency would be in the US).

        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by anubi on Friday November 02 2018, @11:07PM (2 children)

          by anubi (2828) on Friday November 02 2018, @11:07PM (#757127) Journal

          I consider most of the ads so insulting, if not blatently full of trickytalk, that I have elevated blood pressure and anger after the ad experience. Most ads are not informative; they are a thinly-veiled pack of businesstalk crafted to deceive... and I feel quite on edge even hearing the eruptions of those masters of deceit hooting off spewing deception.

          TV advertisers in particular have mastered the art of taking sometimes several minutes of excrucially slow passing air time to blather about how bad people look while all so carefully avoiding anything that holds them to anything. Its like they are just planting bear traps.

          --
          "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
          • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday November 03 2018, @08:22AM (1 child)

            by maxwell demon (1608) on Saturday November 03 2018, @08:22AM (#757217) Journal

            Most ads are not informative

            You mean, there are informative ads?

            --
            The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
            • (Score: 1) by anubi on Saturday November 03 2018, @11:03PM

              by anubi (2828) on Saturday November 03 2018, @11:03PM (#757427) Journal

              Once or twice per blue moon, someone will actually air an informative ad for something actually innovative and useful.

              Its like finding a diamond in a bin full of broken glass.

              I find the tell of a scam ad is the presence of trickytalk. If you hear trickytalk, they have already revealed their intent, you can safely mute them without fear you miss anything of value.

              --
              "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
  • (Score: 1) by zzarko on Saturday November 03 2018, @05:21AM

    by zzarko (5697) on Saturday November 03 2018, @05:21AM (#757200)

    ... or any other, for that matter. And if I have, I strongly doubt I would buy anything that he recommends...

    --
    C64 BASIC: 1 a=rnd(-52028):fori=1to8:a=rnd(1):next:fori=1to5:?chr$(rnd(1)*26+65);:next
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