I went to Austin with interviews to conduct, artists to see and a camera roll that was about to work overtime. Somewhere along the way, I also ended up inside a bright yellow Snapchat truck, holding a megaphone and posing in heart-shaped sunglasses. Apparently, my festival coverage needed a few side quests.
On October 8, ahead of Austin City Limits Weekend Two, I visited Snapchatâs activation at the University of Texas at Austin. The setup brought together a Charm Bar, an augmented reality photo booth and a Spotlight content experience. Snapchat also offered Snap School, a workshop focused on helping creators grow their reach, engagement and monetization.
As a college student who writes about music and creates content, I was interested in both sides of the experience: the fun of setting up and the opportunity to learn more about the platform behind it. And the experience didnât end on campus. I also visited Snapchatâs Charm Bar at ACL, which became my favorite activation of the entire festival.
A Little Accessorizing, a Lot of Yellow
The truck was difficult to miss. Outside, its bright yellow exterior invited Austin to âcome hang with us.â Inside, Snapchat ghosts, emojis, and Longhorns references covered the space. There were props, a place to sit and film, and plenty of opportunities to turn a quick visit into several different camera-roll moments.
Naturally, I participated. The heart-shaped sunglasses made an appearance. So did the megaphone. My friend and I explored the setup, tried out the props and posed in the filming area. It was a playful change of pace before a weekend of moving between performances and interviews.
The Charm Bar added another form of self-expression to the experience. While a photo captures what a moment looked like, a charm offers something physical to associate with it. For an event built around making memories, the pairing made sense.
During my visit, I spoke with Amanda Tran, Snapchatâs Content Partnerships Lead, about the thinking behind the activation.
âWe feel like the Charm Bar paired with our AR photo booth is a really great way to capture memories on site at festivals and campuses all around the country,â she explained.
Tran described the experience as a way to bring Snapchat into places its users were already spending time together. Capturing a memory and sharing it with friends was already familiar; the activation gave that habit a physical setting.
Our conversation also made room for a much simpler explanation: we love accessorizing. Sometimes, the charm really is the point.
One More Snapchat Side Quest: The Party
The Snapchat experience continued that evening at Victory Lap, where I attended the exclusive party ahead of ACL Weekend Two. With special guests Arden Jones and Ćaszewo, it was such a fun way to spend the night before the festival. Apparently, a campus activation, an interview and a camera roll full of photos were only the beginning of my Snapchat itinerary.
The night also gave me a chance to get to know Austin a little more. Ahead of a weekend packed with performances and coverage, I got to enjoy being in the city, meet people, and take in the excitement around the festival. Having Arden Jones and Ćaszewo there made the evening even more special and added to that feeling that the music was already starting before we reached the festival grounds.
What stayed with me just as much was how welcoming everyone was. Everyone I interacted with who worked there was so sweet and kind, and that made the experience even better. The photo opportunities and special guests were exciting, but the people helped make it a night I felt happy to be part of.
Between the daytime activation and the party that evening, Snapchat gave me such a lovely introduction to the weekend. I was getting to know the city, enjoying the company around me and collecting memories before my first day at ACL had even begun.Â
My Favorite Festival Detour
At ACL, Snapchatâs Charm Bar was such a treat. Between covering performances and conducting interviews, getting to enjoy an experience like this became part of what made the festival feel special. Of all the activations I experienced that weekend, this one was my favorite.
The best part? I came home with a charm keychain that I absolutely love. Thereâs something sweet about a souvenir that brings you back to an experience. My keychain reminds me of the fun I had with Snapchat during the trip, from the campus visit to the festival itself.Â
It also brought Amandaâs explanation into focus. She had spoken about capturing memories and bringing Snapchat into the places where people were already making them. After experiencing the activation at both UT Austin and ACL, I could see that connection in my own trip. I had memories to share on my phone and a keepsake I was excited to hold on to.
Also, I cannot pretend that a cute accessory doesnât help win me over. I love my charm keychain, and it deserves its moment in this article.
Giving Festival Moments a Wider Audience
Beyond the props and photo opportunities, I wanted to know how a student creator could use Spotlight to share festival content more creatively.
âSpotlight is all about authenticity and sharing memories and moments in real time,â Tran said.
She described it as an opportunity to engage with a community while reaching people beyond an existing audience. For someone covering live music, that opens up possibilities beyond the performance clip: the little moments around a set, the people you experience it with, or a spontaneous detour into a yellow truck.
That felt especially relevant to my Austin coverage. The performances were a huge part of why I was there, but my photos and videos also documented everything happening around them. Those details help tell the story of being there.
Amandaâs Advice for Student Creators
When I asked Tran for a takeaway from Snap School, her first recommendation was consistency.
âPost consistently, at least once a day if you can,â she advised.
Tran explained that consistent posting helps the platform identify the audience a creator is trying to reach. She also drew a useful distinction between Spotlight and Stories.
âSpotlight is there for discoverability,â she said.
In her explanation, Spotlight helps new viewers find a public creator. When those viewers follow, Stories can then give them a deeper look at the person behind the content.
For me, that was the most useful part of our conversation. A short video might introduce someone to my concert coverage, while Stories can show more of the experience: preparing for an interview, exploring an activation, or sharing the moments between assignments.
My visit gave me plenty to photograph, but it also gave me something to think about as a creator. I spend so much time deciding what to capture. Amandaâs advice brought the next question into focus: how can those moments help people discover my work and want to keep following it?
I already think Snapchat is such a fun app, and getting to experience it this way gave me another reason to appreciate it. The campus visit offered room to play and learn, while the ACL Charm Bar became a highlight of my festival experience.
I came for the Snapchat side quest. I left with footage, creator advice, a charm keychain I adore, and photographic evidence that I should probably be supervised around a prop table. A pretty successful detour, if you ask me.