Snapchat Launches New Localized Lens Promotion for ‘House of the Dragon’

Yes, I know that you were burned by the final season of Game of Thrones, in which your favorite character did something so inexplicable that it ruined all seven seasons or preceding development, to the point where you can hardly bear to look at a map of Westeros ever again

But Game of Thrones is about to make a comeback, albeit in different form, with the prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ set to premiere on HBO this weekend.

And past traumas aside, it could be good (George RR Martin says that it’s much more aligned with his original vision), and either way, we do get to see those amazing dragons on TV once again.

Which is the focus of the latest campaign on Snapchat, which enables Snap users to transform themselves into dragons via various AR activations within the app’s Lens tools.

Which looks kind of cool – but even more interesting, from a social media marketing standpoint, is this element of the latest HBO/Snap campaign:

“Snap and HBO Max have also coordinated with members of Snap’s Lens Network from around the world to build custom Landmarker AR experiences in their local markets. This is the first partnership to pair a brand with a diverse group of Lens Creators at a global scale.”

In what could be a new consideration for large-scale launches, or even for smaller brands looking to collaborate with a range of creators in different regions, Snap has facilitated a new, global partnership, with various Lens makers, to enable new forms of localized engagement with these Lens activations. 

“In order to execute the campaign, HBO Max provided the Lens Creators with AR assets for each dragon to build the new Landmarker Lenses. Each Lens Creator personally selected the location for their individual Landmarker Lens, bringing a powerful local element to this global campaign.”

The Lenses will be available at the following locations once the show begins:

• Los Angeles – Venice Beach Grand Canals, built by Francis Chen
• Rio De Janeiro – Princess Isabel Statue, built by Vitulo & Co
• London – Tower Bridge, built by Clara Bacou
• Chennai – Sankagiri Fort, built by RBKavin Studio
• Mumbai – CST Station (IE Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus), built by Mohnish Raut and Persica Picardo
• Prague – Charles Bridge, built by Inna Horobchuk

What’s more, the activations will evolve throughout the season, with new dragons that appear in the show also becoming available in these displays.

It’s an interesting expansion on the usual Lens campaign approach, with the more localized approach potentially helping to improve engagement, and get even more Snap users engaged in the show.

Which, as noted, could be a hard sell – but then again, if the show is actually good, that could help to wash away at least some of the bad taste left in fans’ mouths after the terrible Game of Thrones season finale.

And from a digital marketing perspective, it could highlight a new way to work with Snap’s growing network of creators to build more inclusive, regionally relevant, engaging experiences.

More than 250,000 Lens Creators have already built over 2.5 million Lenses through Snap’s ‘Lens Studio’ AR creation tool. That’s a lot of potential for broader integrations via Snap campaigns.