DUBAI: Snapchat parent company Snap is launching a Lens Creator Rewards program in 40 countries, including Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is one of its top-five markets in terms of engagement with lenses, the company said.
Other countries in which the program will be introduced include the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco and Libya. Although the program is open to creators from all 40 countries, to be eligible for a reward of up to $7,200 the lenses must perform well in three specific markets: the US, India and Mexico.
Sophia Dominguez, director of augmented reality platform partnerships and ecosystem at Snap, told Arab News that the program “is rolling out to these three countries first” and “through a proprietary formula we are measuring engagement specifically for top-performing lenses” in those countries.
“If you’re from another country and your lens is a high-performing lens in these countries, you can still receive a reward,” she added.
This means that if, for example, a Saudi creates a lens that is very popular only in the Kingdom, it would not qualify for a reward. It must be a hit, according to Snap’s formula, in the US, India and Mexico.
If the lens performs well in only one or two of those countries, the creator will still be eligible for a reward, but the value does “cascade down” from the maximum available reward of $7,200, said Dominguez.
The proprietary formula measures engagement with a lens through a variety of factors, she added.
“Because Snap is a camera, it was really important to focus on the engagement of the lens itself, rather than judging it (based on) video views and other things,” she explained.
If successful, the program could be rolled out to even more countries, Dominguez added.
“We wanted to stay really nimble with the rewards program and focus on measuring success” by seeing how creators react to the program and whether it helps them build their business, she said.
“So, if it is successful, then we will definitely roll it out to more regions.”
Snap describes lenses as playful augmented reality experiences that transform the world around you. In the Middle East and North Africa region alone, 85 percent of daily Snapchat users interact with lenses every day, and by 2025 almost all of the Gen Z and Millennial population in Saudi Arabia are expected to be frequent users of augmented reality, according to data from the company.
“You know how popular Snapchat is in MENA, and the community there is absolutely incredible, so we’re actively thinking about incorporating the region into our plans in the future,” Dominguez added.
