Snapchat Unveils New ‘Spotlight Challenges’, Touting $25,000 Max Prize Pools

Snapchat has unveiled today new financial incentives for creators on Spotlight, on top of the millions of dollars it already hands out each month to creators of the grabby, short-form video.

Coming next month, Spotlight Challenges will offer cash prizes for top-performing Spotlight videos that harness specific Lenses, Sounds, or trending topics. Spotlight Challenges will feature different prompts — or ‘categories’, in Snapchat’s parlance. This could include ‘best trick shot’ or ‘impressions challenge’ (which are examples of topic-related Challenges) or the best use of a specific Song or Lens.

At launch, Challenges won’t be sponsored, Snapchat says — though it’s easy to envision how brands could become involved in the future.

Each Challenge will feature a total prize pool of between roughly $1,000 and $25,000. The minimum prize that an individual creator can win in a Challenge is $250, and each challenge will reward roughly three to five creators. The winner will of each Challenge will take home the most money, with prizes decreasing for second and third place, and so on.

Snapchat will determine winners by judging the 50 highest-viewed submissions for each Challenge. Its staffers will judge submissions based on creativity and originality, innovative use of the platform’s creative tools, unique POV, and entertainment value.

Spotlight Challenge is currently in tests, and will roll out next month to Android and iOS users in the U.S., with international markets to follow.

Opening Up The Creator Marketplace To Snap Stars

In addition to Spotlight Challenges, Snapchat made several other creator-focused announcements today, including the establishment of a so-called Creator Hub website that will serve as a go-to resource for aspiring creators and professionals alike.

Snapchat also said that its Gifting feature, first announced in May, is now rolling to all Snap Stars — which is how the company refers to verified creators — globally. Gifting enables subscribers to send Snap Tokens, a form of virtual currency, to creators via public Story Replies. Snap takes a cut of revenues generated from Gifts, but does not disclose what percentage.

Finally, Snapchat announced that the Creator Marketplace it launched last spring to facilitate connections between marketers and AR creators is now opening its doors to Snap Stars as well (pictured above). On the marketplace, which was previously only available to Lens creators and developers, all creators can now connect with brands via profiles that list their subscriber count, age, languages, collaboration fees, contact information, and more.

In addition to helping facilitate brand deals, Snap is also introducing a ‘Sponsored By‘ tag that will show up on sponsored content under creators’ user names, enabling them to tag brands. (Brands must operate verified profiles in order to be tagged). Snap says that all revenues from deals brokered on its Creator Marketplace will go directly to creators.