Matt McGowan (Snap Inc.)

May 4

On this episode of Marketing News Canada, Darian Kovacs interviews Matt McGowan, the General Manager at Snap Inc.

Matt is the Director and General Manager of Snap Inc Canada, the camera company that owns Snapchat, Spectacles, Toronto based Bitmoji, and Zenly. He serves on the board of CPA Ontario, the governing provincial body that represents chartered professional accountants. A New Yorker turned Canadian living in the City of Toronto, Matt has worked alongside founders, executives, venture capitalists, and more. Working alongside these professionals has allowed Matt to grow his knowledge and skill base and make him the business professional he is today.

In Canada, there are nearly 11 million users of Snapchat, making it a significant portion of the country's population. Snapchat is beginning to change the way people communicate, making it more personal than just texting with the use of imagery. “In the age 13-24 demographic of Candians, Snapchat reaches nearly 80 percent of the population.” Due to this information, Matt believes that Gen Z and Millenials find visual communication more efficient and descriptive.

Snapchat can be considered a “super app” states Matt, as there are so many more things going on than just sending photos. A new spotlight feature has been added recently that allows users to share to more than just their friends. This feature is very effective for content creators. In the first month of spotlight being launched it grew to 100 million active users which greatly exceeded the brands expectations.

Snapchat has become the most used camera globally. This has allowed for the integration of augmented reality. Using the camera on Snapchat, users are now able to try on glasses, and even clothes before purchasing new items, eliminating the fear of commitment. Snapchat has also integrated the use of Geotags. These are filters to show other Snapchat users your location by city, the appearance of these filters vary by city and some may even have more than one option.

Changing the way users communicate is something Snapchat has been striving to do for the past few years. For some, they have replaced texting with this platform as it is quick and effective. With the integration of filters, spotlight, and even games, this social media platform is truly futuristic and is growing everyday.

When asked rapid fire questions, Matt answered:

Podcast you’d recommend?
Joe Rogan
Newsletter or website you’d recommend for resources/inspiration?
The Morning Brew

Matt has experience being on the board of many different companies, with this being said he has a lot to offer Snapchat. His drive for prosperity and growth shines through in his work, and he ensures that the brand has a lot in store for the near future.

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