Snap hired ad-industry veteran Resh Sidhu to lead Arcadia, the Snapchat parent’s global creative studio for branded augmented reality.
Sidhu joins Arcadia as global director, based in New York, heading up the AR business and managing the team globally. Most recently, she served as chief creative officer for Barbarian, working with clients including American Express, Samsung, Fenty and Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
Previously, Sidhu served as group creative director for digital agency AKQA, where she executed AR experiences for Volvo and Coca-Cola. Before AKQA, she was creative director at Oscar-winning VFX studio Framestore, where she developed the VR experience for Warner Bros.’ and J.K. Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
In addition to Sidhu’s hiring, Snap announced two other leadership appointments for the group: Jeff Miller will serve as Arcadia’s executive director while continuing his role as global head of creative strategy for Snap; and Lidiya Bogdanovych will serve as executive producer and also continue as Snap’s director of lens design.
“Snap are pioneers in augmented reality, and I am so proud to join the Arcadia team during this time of immense opportunity,” Sidhu said in a statement provided to Variety. “The stage is set for never-before-seen creativity and innovation as we chart a new path into worlds we have yet to imagine.”
Snap announced the launch of Arcadia in October 2021. Among its recent campaigns was a series of Verizon 5G connected Snapchat Lenses for Super Bowl LVI for fans at SoFi Stadium in L.A. (letting them team up and battle with other groups to take control of a giant virtual airship hovering above the field).
Arcadia also created an AR lens for Verizon 5G and Cirque du Soleil for the latter’s “O” show in Las Vegas, and it worked with the NFL’s Washington Commanders on the introduction of the team’s new name with an AR experience that allowed Snapchatters to virtually try on the new uniforms and step inside its redecorated locker room.
Other Arcadia clients have included Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Foundation; artist Alex Israel at Art Basel 2021; and Qatar’s Ooredoo Group with Jeff Koons and the Qatar Museum, in a project to extend Koons’ Lost in America exhibition using AR.