In celebration of the Lunar New Year, Messenger has decided to add a range of new tools, including themed stickers and new custom AR effects. Culturally speaking, Messenger will also be adding a new way for users to share red letter envelopes within the app through the use of its updated 3D avatar tools.
New Year after New Year
Starting things off, Messenger will be featuring a new sticker pack, designed by Naomi Otsu. The stickers are mainly a range of Tiger images, making them highly relevant since this year is known as the ‘Year of the Tiger’. There’s also a new ‘Lion Dance’ AR group effect and though it’s not really a Tiger, it passes since they’re both technically ‘Big’ cats.
On a more distinct note, Messenger is also adding a couple of new chat themes and word effects. Of course, Tigers are included, but the real focus here is actually the deeper cultural alignment, with these elements leaning more into better resonance with traditions and belief systems, finding higher relevance among certain audience segments.
Lastly, and as mentioned earlier, Messenger will also be allowing people to send red letter envelopes to others using their 3D avatars, tying into Meta’s recent avatar creation process update.
“Starting today, people in the United States, Canada and Mexico can use their 3D avatar stickers to send red envelopes, a traditional Lunar New Year gift, to friends on Facebook and Messenger.”
Especially in Eastern cultures, primarily the Chinese, the color ‘Red’ symbolizes luck, happiness, and prosperity. In essence, the practice of giving red envelopes to close connections translates to the imparting of best regards and goodwill, which can also be an engagement factor that’s based on seasonal trends, linking with certain behavioral aspects as well.
Lunar New Year is a major cultural calendar event celebrated by billions of people. These new tools aim to provide people with new ways to better mark the occasion with family and friends. Since it’ll last for approximately two weeks, engagement rates can see an all-time high during this period, prompting efficient planning and execution of any marketing effort.
The Wrap
On the broader side of things, it’s also a rather interesting first step towards the expansion of Meta’s 3D avatars, which it hopes will eventually allow users to create highly accurate virtual depictions of themselves for varied use. The ultimate goal is that these characters eventually take on the role of becoming their digital identity in the coming Metaverse shift, which is still a long way out, but it doesn’t hurt to prepare early.
No doubt that we’ll soon see more and more options for using digital avatars, as well as more integrations that feature both AR and VR tools. As it stands, it seems that this supposed ‘Next’ stage of digital connection is one that’s marked with improved user experience spliced with boosted digital immersion, resulting in a new and different kind of ‘Feel’.
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