Snapchat is officially entering awards show territory. The platform has announced “The Snappys,” a new in-house awards show designed to spotlight and celebrate the creators shaping culture on the app.
Taking place on March 31 at Snapchat’s Santa Monica headquarters, the event will bring together creators, industry leaders, and special guests for what Snap describes as an evening dedicated to the voices and stories resonating most with its community.
In other words: Snapchat wants to formalize its creator economy, and give it a stage.
An no, it does not remind me of Instagram’s Rings awards (can you tell I’m being ironic?)
According to Snapchat, The Snappys will recognize creators across categories including:
- Entertainment
- Comedy
- Music
- Sports
- Beauty
Specific awards will include:
- Spotlight MVP (best short-form video creator)
- Best Storyteller
- Breakout Creator of the Year
The show will be hosted by comedian and Snap Star Matt Friend, who built his audience directly on the platform, a fitting choice for an event centered on native creator success.
Snap says the goal is to celebrate creators not just as users, but as artists, entertainers, and cultural leaders. That positioning is important. It signals that Snap wants to elevate its talent ecosystem to the same cultural tier as other major platforms that have invested heavily in creator recognition and monetization programs.
The inaugural Snappys will also feature a Lifetime Achievement Award for DJ Khaled, one of Snapchat’s earliest breakout personalities. Khaled’s rise on the app dates back to 2015, when he famously documented getting lost on a jet ski in Miami, turning a chaotic misadventure into viral gold. The raw, unfiltered storytelling moment helped cement him as one of Snapchat’s most iconic figures and demonstrated the platform’s power to create cultural moments outside traditional media structures.
Long before TikTok virality and creator funds, Snapchat helped pioneer personality-first digital storytelling, and Khaled was one of its most visible proof points.
Why This Matters Now
Let’s zoom out.
Snapchat currently sits at 946 million monthly active users globally, but its growth has slowed in key markets. Competition from TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts continues to intensify, particularly around short-form video and creator monetization.
Launching The Snappys feels less like a vanity project and more like a strategic signal:
- Reinforce Snapchat as a creator-first platform
- Reward loyalty among Snap-native talent
- Generate press and social buzz around in-app stars
- Position Snapchat as culturally relevant, not just functionally different
Award shows aren’t new. But platform-native award shows are part branding exercise, part ecosystem reinforcement. They create status inside the app, and status fuels ambition. Instagram won’t disagree.