If there were a queen of adorable collaborations, Hello Kitty would reign supreme. The Japanese bobtail cat with no mouth — she "speaks from her heart" — is a surprisingly savvy entrepreneur. The Sanrio-created character has graced everything from phones to bottles of wine and colorful makeup collections. Her latest ever-expanding partnership is with none other than Snapchat.
For the next month, a Sanrio-themed sticker pack will be available on the app, complete with 30 character stickers. Tap the sticker tool and the Hello Kitty bow icon to add any of the characters to a snap.
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While Snapchat has previously partnered with Sanrio on Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars Lenses, this collaboration marks the first time that Snapchat has ever partnered with another brand on a creative tool. It's unlikely to be the last. All you need to do is look at recent Lenses promoting new makeup collections and movies to get a sense of other collaborations that might appear in sticker form, too.
Branded sticker packs are all well and good, but you can find those plenty of other places, including iMessage. We're hoping this partnership evolves to encompass other creative tools. Imagine using the new emoji brush to paint Keroppis or Chococats across the screen.
One component that does make the Sanrio sticker pack special is its connection to the Sanrio Character Ranking. The annual competition pits one character against another, asking fans to vote for their favorite among the 100. Each sticker that you use in a snap will count as a vote towards that character. Which means all Pochacco fans should snap now, or forever hold your peace.
There’s a supercute surprise for everybody on Snapchat today! pic.twitter.com/s65EWt3HNO
— Hello Kitty (@hellokitty) November 1, 2016