The revered Snapchat Spectacles are finally here! Well... sort of. Snapchat has chosen such a unique way to sell their first physical product. It's called a Snapbot and it's basically a popup vending machine that only dispenses Spectacles.The very first Snapbot appeared in Venice Beach a few days ago. Wondering where it will go next? Check out the 24-hour countdown timer on the Spectacles website where they will announce the next city you can expect to find a bot. So far, the Snapbot has landed in Venice Beach & Big Sur.
If you're lucky enough to be in a city where the Snapbot lands next, then it's going to be well worth the wait to purchase the $130 Spectacles. These camera/sunglass hybrids are going for $1000 USD and beyond on eBay at the moment since they're such a rarity. Talk about a brilliant marketing campaign. Keeping the Spectacles exclusive is making the buzz that much louder. Check out this awesome article that describes one teen's experience purchasing Spectacles in Venice Beach.
Let's talk about disruption for a second. How cool is it that Snapchat can launch a product without the need to A) ship to people's homes or B) ever set foot in a retailer like Best Buy or Target. The answer is REALLY cool. With the power of social media to create hype and awareness and then the ability to announce your next popup store location, the sky is the limit for similar products in the future. Not to mention, the low overhead, there are no employees physically selling the Spectacles besides the people restocking the Snapbot when it sells out. It sort of reminds me of when Beyonce launched her album on the internet with no prior announcement or need to work with any outside company. I guess when you're the Beyonce's and the Snapchat's of the world, you can kind of do what you want. Bey reinvented how to release an album and now Snapchat has reinvented how to launch a product. Kudos to them!
In the meantime, I'll be over here patiently waiting for the Snapbot to come to Denver. For now, the best way to find out the next location is to check the Spectacles map https://www.spectacles.com/map/ . If you're interested in how people will use Snapchat Spectacles, check out this blog I wrote a few weeks ago. Thanks for stopping by!
