We Created An Instagram AR Photo Filter!
Tanker went to client Flox saying “Insta AR filters are hot in 2020 and are really great for encouraging interaction and getting followers – so Tanker were thinking a Flox one would be super awesome!”
To which Flox replied “LOVE IT!!!”
Tanker has been helping Flox to create Facebook Frames since 2017 as a way to drive engagement with her fans. The Instagram AR photo effects were the next logical step!
The main thrust of the filter was to engage and build instagram followers. We were also interested if it would translate to website sales.
Aesthetic, functionality, inspiration
First up Tanker thought that a flower crown would be a strong and simple idea for the first Flox photo effect.
We had seen Flox wearing flower crowns in the past at Splore festival, and as one of the first Instagram photo effect ideas we knew that it was a tried and tested idea! We also knew it would suit her demographic.
Flox is known for her trademark native birds, ferns and flowers – a celebration of environmental taonga – vibrant, confident colour; and scale combined with delicacy. This perfectly translated into the idea of the flower crown effect so users could feel that powerful combo in their selfies!
After the concept was locked in we worked with our tech Dan as he is a pro 3D whizz!
We asked Flox to send us:
- 2D mock up of it
- high res flower layers used – could be a PSD with the layers
- need to know whether it’s to be completely static (example: rigidly sits on the head) or has some motion (example: tilting head sideways might make flower stems sway) or interactivity (example: a facial cue causes a flower to bloom).
The initial idea was purely flowers-but we couldn’t have a Flox Flower Crown without making it a show stopper! Her signature style butterflies were added to create something dynamic.
Development, testing and refinement of the filter
It was really great having a concept and idea locked in from the get-go. There was a little tweaking of the size, where the filter sat on the head and the movement of the butterflies—but in general the mock up gave us the information we needed to get rolling.
We followed the Spark AF Filter guidelines to a T! The naming protocol and file information is very important to stick to.
We came up with a list of around 10 names, and decided on something general so that it would hopefully start to rank in searches and tap into the explorer algorithms.
The roll out plan was focused around Instagram, Facebook, Mailchimp and an influencer campaign.
The effect was accepted by Spark AR Hub on Tuesday 25 February, 2020. We decided to launch on Friday 28th February as this suited the client and there were still a good amount of followers online during this day.
ROI/Reporting/Results
Without promotion
Before the promo launch on Friday 28 Feb the stats for the effect were:
Impressions: 27
Captures: 7
Shares: 2
With promotion
After the marketing promotion these were the stats for the week.
Instagram Stats
Actions taken on page on Friday 28 Feb: 13.75% increase.
Instagram Growth over the week: +160 people
Profile Visits over the week: 1280 (+716 from the week before)
Interactions over the week: 1387 (this includes profile visits)
Spark AR Effect stats
Mailchimp Stats
1714 opens (including resend campaign)
7.6% click through rate on links
0 purchases made through emails
189 clicks were through to Instagram profile to see filter
Website stats
Focus was not on driving people to the website but there was a slight bump in users on February 28th. There was higher traffic when we posted the new Noir Botanical range to socials with a direct link to the website.
Final Thoughts
So far the effect has worked best for brand awareness. People love the filter and the idea! A concentrated campaign pushing the effect helped spread awareness and dramatically increased captures and share.
It’s not super easy to find filters at the moment so the best way to get it out is by getting influencers and others to share it along with a concentrated marketing campaign. People don’t get a notification when it is released and it’s quite hard to search for filters on Instagram. So far there are only algorithms displaying top filters.
The filter didn’t translate to increasing sales (although this was not the goal). A lot of people visited Flox’s profile so when the next filter/marketing of the effect happens it would be good to have product shots as the first line of the main Instagram grid. Need to prepare the social spaces so that products are easy to find so we can capitalise on increased interest. The reach and impressions will be great for targeting adverts to the people who saw the filter so has potentially increased future sales.
Looking for an innovative way to engage with your social media fans?
