--- title: "Spectacles" description: "The viral camera glasses launch at Snapchat." type: "Product Launch" era: "Snap (2015-2017)" year: "2016" author: "Kelly Nyland" url: "https://kellyny.land/work/spectacles" source: "https://app.notion.com/p/Spectacles-35686637460e81589903e17ff922076a" --- # Spectacles > The viral camera glasses launch at Snapchat. ## Spectacles **Head of Go To Market, Snapchat** *NYSE: SNAP, Backed by Lightspeed, Benchmark, Coatue, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Tencent and Alibaba Group.* Pre-IPO, I was sought out and joined the Snap Lab executive team to architect the launch and go-to-market strategy for Spectacles at Snapchat. The concept and execution was developed completely in-house and in secret by my team. The first version of the Apple iPod sold 100,000 units of it’s first generation, so we made it our goal to construct a viral campaign that would allow us to sell the same number of units through limited distribution within the first year of the product launch. We met our goals, without selling a single unit online, within 9 months of the launch. This campaign created the momentum that Evan Spiegel wanted to usher in the company’s 2017 IPO. ![Model wearing teal Snap Spectacles camera sunglasses against a yellow backdrop, with matching teal lipstick](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/0641806315cf5f05.png) ![Black-and-white photos of a man in a white T-shirt wearing clear-framed Snap Spectacles camera glasses](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/5285a70fa80f520a.png) ![Smiling person with curly blonde hair wearing blue Snap Spectacles with mirrored lenses on a teal background](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/0574a175d50ee413.png) ![Yellow Snapchat ghost billboard atop an Allston brick building against blue sky](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/9a9c7bac36fe3e14.png) ![Man in sunglasses holds Spectacles beside a giant yellow Snapbot vending robot as a beachfront crowd lines up](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/8822cc5a3ff10597.png) ![Yellow Snapbot vending robot with a cartoon face floating under yellow balloons in a desert](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/52630288f78512ac.png) ![Black Snap Spectacles camera-sunglasses in an open yellow case; text reads Sunglasses that Snap!](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/4029542fce7c8440.png) ![Coral-red Snap Spectacles beside an iPhone showing a beach Snap in the Snapchat camera](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/7822bd5fe94215e9.png) ![Man in a beanie holds up black Spectacles sealed inside a clear cylindrical package](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/a90052a054d54efe.png) ![Black headline on white: Snap Inc.'s 'Spectacles' are fetching as much as $2,500 on eBay](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/f40846d73296036c.png) ![Handwritten Spiegel thank-you notes addressed to Kelly Nyland beside desk flower arrangements](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/5627faf67d1bfa0f.png) --- ### Brand & Campaign ![Spectacles Product Design slide: front-on black glasses, yellow case and cable, 8 million snaps, 1 billion views](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/a57d278bbaabd6ab.jpg) *Product Design board* ![Spectacles Launch Campaign slide with metrics, activation photos and a model wearing red Spectacles](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/3ac84210428c8c73.jpg) *Launch Campaign board* ![Spectacles Snapbot slide showing the yellow vending robot in the desert, a California drop map and a user at a machine](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/6431d5b28b7f0f8f.jpg) ![Spectacles Advertising slide with a city billboard, phone Snap ads, neon Spectacles sign and a Snapbot robot](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/afda093c8de3fd68.jpg) *Advertising copy* ![Spectacles advertising slide: yellow stat circles, Snapbot mural photos, and Times Square billboard of woman in teal Spectacles.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/969051af23a63364.jpg) *Advertising* ![Spectacles advertising slide with grid of city billboard placements, a phone photographing one, and vending-machine display screens.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/a739eb3785387fb1.jpg) *Advertising 2* ![Spectacles web-design slide showing spectacles.com browser mockups, a product page priced $129.99, and phone screens.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/4ff6bfe1101ec9ca.jpg) ![Spectacles photography: three models in teal, black, and red camera-glasses on yellow, mint, and red backgrounds, plus yellow cases and packaging.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/8687b7422e8c75c5.jpg) *Photography* ![Spectacles photography slide: three models side by side wearing red, teal, and black camera-glasses, above yellow campaign stat circles.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/4efc8d435e0ade5a.jpg) *Photography 2* ![Spectacles app-experience slide: two phones showing the Snapchat Memories screen with circular Spectacles video of a cyclist on a bike path.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/b4ced0edce9f816a.jpg) *App experience* ![Spectacles video slide: close-up of black camera-glasses, circular clips of a dog, swing, and canyon, plus photos of people wearing Spectacles.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/7346c9ef2ce04614.jpg) ![Spectacles brand-identity slide: a tweet praising the lens-shaped logo, product renders, yellow canister packaging, and glasses in charging case.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/6acdcced38f35d84.jpg) *Brand identity* ![Spectacles circular-video slide: black camera-glasses beside a phone showing circular dog footage and frames of a hand rotating the phone.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/8ab65076301e6cf4.jpg) *Circular video* ![Spectacles packaging-design slide: teal and red camera-glasses inside clear cylindrical canisters with yellow cases and a printed insert.](https://kellyny.land/images/notion/7a252b0dc954a4b5.jpg) *Packaging design* --- ### Videos YouTube [▶ Embedded media](https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/pZ5s1BBI4S8) I Got The Snapchat Spectacles Early [▶ Embedded media](https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/iPyxxhFV2bs) Snapchat Spectacles Unboxing and review! | iJustine --- ### Awards - 🥇 **Gold Lion** — Temporary Pop-Up Environment & Experience Design · Cannes Lions (2017) - 🥈 **Silver Lion** — Mobile: Connected Devices · Cannes Lions (2017) - 🥉 **Bronze Lion** — Mobile: Wearable Technology · Cannes Lions (2017) - 🥉 **Bronze Lion** — Design: UX Interface & User Journey · Cannes Lions (2017) - 🏆 Hardware of the Year (Crunchies) · TechCrunch (2017) - 🏆 Best Startup Video (Crunchies) · TechCrunch (2017) --- ### In Their Words > "The marketing genius behind Snap's new Spectacles is something we haven't seen in a long, long time. We all want a pair." — Kurt Wagner, [Vox](https://www.vox.com/2016/11/20/13688096/snap-snapchat-spectacles-marketing-success) > "With the launch of the brilliantly marketed Spectacles, Snapchat proved that a tech company could create genuine consumer desire." — Thomas Ricker, [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/26/14041548/2016-tech-recap-snapchat-spectacles) --- ### Press - [The marketing genius behind Snap's new Spectacles](https://www.vox.com/2016/11/20/13688096/snap-snapchat-spectacles-marketing-success) · Vox · 2016-11-20 - [2016 tech recap: Snapchat Spectacles](https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/26/14041548/2016-tech-recap-snapchat-spectacles) · The Verge · 2016-12-26 - [Why Spectacles will succeed where Google Glass failed](https://adage.com/article/guest-columnists/snapchat-s-spectacles-succeed-google-glass-failed/306013) · Ad Age · 2016-12 - [Snap Spectacles Win 3 Golds at Cannes for their functional, beautiful design](https://www.adweek.com/creativity/snap-spectacles-win-3-golds-at-cannes-for-their-functional-beautiful-design/) · Adweek · 2017-06 - [SnapGlass? HoloChat? Snapchat is secretly hiring wearable technology experts](https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/snapchat-glasses-vergence-snap-labs-hints-wearable/) · CNET · 2016 - [The People Who Matter at Snap](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/the-people-who-matter-at-snap) · The Information · 2017 --- [View on kellyny.land](https://kellyny.land/work/spectacles)