Following the now infamous exit of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 10 contestant Vanessa Vanjie Matteo, "Miss Vaaanjie!" was not only the catchphrase of the season, but a viral sensation. To capitalize on the iconic moment, we collaborated with our internal development team to create a Miss Vanjie filter for Snapchat and Facebook. The filter transported fans directly to the main stage as Miss Vanjie herself. It functioned in both selfie mode and on the front-facing camera, allowing users to "Vanjie" themselves and their friends.
Our strategy was two-pronged: (1) leverage the consistently engaged, die-hard Drag Race audience by launching the filter on both Snapchat and Facebook platforms during the Season 10 Reunion episode; (2) target the larger queer fan base that were aware of the Vanjie phenomenon by launching during LGBTQ Pride Month. We did this by featuring the Snapcode in an on-air bumper during the Reunion episode and also creating "Vanjie Fans" featuring the Snapcode that were passed around during the NYC Pride Parade. Social promotion also played a significant role in the project's success, with "Best of Vanjie" clips and direct linking to the filters from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook driving user engagement.
The Vanjie filter was VH1's first foray into augmented reality and the fans loved it. The filter garnered 1.16M views, 111.4K code scans and 81.7K shares on Snapchat. Facebook usage was also strong with 740K impressions, 142.4K captures and 12.4K shares.
