Are the Forthcoming Snapchat Spectacles Better than Google Glass?

As a marketing professor, one of the best things I can do for my students is to expose them to the latest and greatest technologies to provide them with a competitive advantage against older and more experienced professionals whose education took place before these latest and greatest technologies permeated our world.  Thus, when I read the recent article by Shelly Palmer in Ad Age entitled, "Snapchat's Spectacles Can Succeed Where Google Glass Failed,” I was very intrigued.

You see, I truly believe that virtual reality, augmented reality and wearable technologies have the ability to transform the way we will live our lives tomorrow.  The impact of these technologies on marketing and business will be tremendous and powerful.  If you are convinced of the power of experiential marketing, these technologies have the ability to take experiences to an entire new level with even stronger impacts on consumers’ buying and consumption habits.

To that end, I often introduce students to the idea of Google Glass (great explanation in this video by Marques Brownlee) and Microsoft HoloLens (check out these demonstration videos) in my classes.  Palmer’s Ad Age article calls Google Glass a failed technology.  Why would I show my students a “failed technology”?  The reason is because with a few tweaks, this technology could be made awesome and perhaps one of my students will do it!  The reason is because it might not be Google Glass, but it will be something similar and it will transform our lives and our work!  The truth is, I believe that Google learned a lot from their launch and will ultimately deliver something bigger and better before any formidable competitors enter the competitive landscape.  But whatever the future may be…it will look something like this!

However, I was kind of disappointed in the future that Snap Inc. (Snapchat’s new company name) promised in its forthcoming Snapchat Spectacles based on this article.  It sounds like you will have the ability to use a pair of glasses to make videos from a first-person perspective and have the video automatically saved to your Snapchat Memories.  One feature that combats some of the privacy issues that Google Glass faced is that there will be a visible circle on people’s classes to let others know that the video camera is on.  I like the price point at $129!  However, I don’t see the need to have another device to do what my cell phone and GoPro can already do!  Plus, Google Glass was so much more than just a first-person video recorder.  I do not feel it is appropriate to even put this new Snap Inc. product in the same product class.

Regardless, technologies in the class of Google Glass or Microsoft HoloLens will transform our lives.  I see virtual reality videos helping members of the extensive do-it-yourself culture to build and fix anything in their houses!  I see product sampling moving beyond products that can be broken down into pieces, but still deliver the full product benefits (i.e. food).  I see the ability for my child to explore cultures around the world first-hand without ever leaving his classroom.  Think of the potential for the hospitality/tourism industry!  For marketing!  For education!  Wow!  What are some of the future uses you see for this technology?

How Should Companies Deal with Global Tragedies in their Marketing Communications Efforts?

Fifteen years later, I am still always surprised by the number of marketing fails that surround the anniversary of September 11th.  Among the failures of 2016 was this gem:

Why does this happen year after year?  While it is probably clear to most readers why the above mattress commercial is inappropriate, I don’t think the answer is always clear cut to marketers.  For instance, this commercial that aired during the 2002 Super Bowl gained a lot of positive attention on social media since the 10th anniversary of September 11th:

However, when this commercial first aired, Budweiser angered a lot of people who were not ready for companies to begin commercializing such a tragic incident in U.S. history.  The obvious lesson here is that Americans became more accepting of tastefully done tributes to the heroes and victims of September 11th over time.  However, the big question is:  what makes a tastefully done tribute?

For instance, this highly controversial AT&T ad from 2011 is very often very well responded to when I use it as an example in my Promotions and Branding and Integrated Marketing Communications classes:

The photography and creativity of this advertisement is brilliant.  It is like a work of art.  However, the advertisement was controversial because the product and brand was front and center.  Consumers perceived this as AT&T presenting itself as more important than the tragedy and lives lost.  Consumers still felt this way 10 years after the incident. 

Yet, I love this example in class because it is a mistake that students can actually see making themselves.  They are captured by the photography and creativity and lose sight of other potential ways consumers may negatively interpret the advertisements.  It’s a powerful example because students cannot see making the mistakes of other marketing fails that I bring into class.  It also is a great jumping point into the discussion of how to tastefully and respectfully acknowledge the tragedy of September 11th (or any tragedy for that matter).

Heidi Rottier, a colleague that teaches Social Media Marketing at Bradley University, provided me with the best visual to help explain the fine lines of acceptability to students:

I think that the best lesson is to make sure that you do not put the brand and company front and center in any tribute to a tragedy impacting human lives.  Any good tribute should feature the heroes and victims as the centerpiece of the advertisement.  In fact, we shouldn’t even think of these pieces of marketing communication as advertisements and instead frame them as tributes.  Paying tribute to the heroes and victims of these tragedies shows that your heart is in the right place as a company.

What do you think…are there any other important lessons as to what is acceptable or not when it comes to paying tribute to a world tragedy in a piece of marketing communication?  Do the lines of acceptability change in other countries and cultures?