Ch. 11 - Developing and Managing Products

Luxottica has many brands on its hands. Every year they see new products across all aspects of eye wear. To stay ahead of the pack and be the leader of the industry in which it operates it must also take recognition of the changing times and adapt to new features and product ideas that will keep it as king.

Luxottica's brand Oakley must take certain steps before releasing a new product to the public. All Oakley eyeglasses are expected to pass three medical tests before allowing it to sell publicly. Usually Oakley runs tests conducted by ANSI (American National Standards Institute). Furthermore, Oakley also complies with Canada's CSA Z94.3-02 protection standards with its eyeglasses. Oakley makes their eyewear to help protect against a lot of the problems and annoyances that standard glasses have. They develop products that help protect against direct sunlight and heavy winds and are also strengthened for impact. Oakley continues to innovate and release products for people with all types of lifestyles and it definitely contributes to the companies continuing growth.

Last year Oakley introduced a new product strategy. They began to develop new technology that would potentially compete with Google's Project Glass, which are glasses that emulate some of the features that a smart phone would directly on the lenses of eyewear. In an interview with Oakley's CEO Colin Baden he said “As an organization, we've been chasing this beast since 1997”, “Ultimately, everything happens through your eyes, and the closer we can bring it to your eyes, the quicker the consumer is going to adopt the platform.” Although Google sets its sights with Project Glass on the average consumer, Oakley sets its sights on something much bigger. They are trying to target athletes who can use them for sports. I can see how this can work in some sports especially (American) football. For example, when the coach calls for a play, all the players can see the route or there task on the lenses. Balin also said that it would possibly develop a slightly similar product for the military with a partnership with Eye Safety Systems, a company that specializes in eyewear for the military. He also said that Oakley has more of the edge considering that they are familiar with eyewear and can make the glasses look stylish. “People get very particular when they put stuff on their face.” he said.

Ch. 18 -Social Media and Marketing

In chapter 18 Social Media and Marketing the author states "As marketing moves into social media, marketers must remember that for most people, social media are meant to be a social experience, not a marketing experience." Ray Ban, Luxottica's brand, did just that in 2010 in which they conducted a social media experience which allow customers to participate in a scavenger hunt to find Ray Ban rare places using Foursquared and Twitter. Ray Ban called it the worlds first real social media experiment. 

Ray Ban chose 50 unique venues and divided them into 5 categories with Ray Ban's Rare prints Wayfarer Collection posters. You know you are in a "Rare Place" when you find a Rare Prints collection poster in a chosen venue. Once found, people can then check-in on foursquared or twitter their location and share with friends and the world. The 50 most active people win the rare limited edition poster on display at the venue they are located at. Luxottica's Wholesale Manager said "the purpose of Ray Ban's Rare Print/ Rare Places project is to present the Rare Print product series to our extremely expressive brand target audience through their social activities " "To bring this concept to life we wanted to create real 'social media', leveraging the digital elements of social media and integrating it into our consumers real lives through the venues they enjoy." Also, the rare venue that generates the most support will win a official Ray Ban party that is worth $5,000. 

All of Luxottica's major brands have social media outlets that allow the customer to engage and follow the brand in "real time". That is the benefit to having social media outlets. Sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad but in Luxottica's brands case it helps them as their brands have such a  strong following and are respective leaders in their own niche market. Collectively, on twitter, they have a few hundred thousand followers which allows the customer to engage and ask questions they may have. All of their twitter pages have staff dedicated to asking questions and replying with any concerns customers may have.

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

Luxottica is a huge organization with a huge product mix. They provide many products that fall under eye wear and eye care. They sell eyeglasses like RayBan and Oakley, insurance, and provide shopping outlets for eye wear such as Pearle Vision and LensCrafters.

 Oakley, Luxottica's company, has a wide range product mix. Eyeglasses being the most common product they sell has many different variations for each model. You can purchase eyewear and choose from many customizations such as: polarized, lens tint, photochromic, UV protection, impact protection, prescription, hydrophobic, frame construction, and HDO 3-D (for watching 3D movies). To go along with its portfolio Oakley also provides accessories and clothing wear. They sell watches, bookbags

and bags, shirts and outerwear, gloves, socks, hats, and footwear. Many, if not all, of the brands associated with Luxottica are well known and it makes sense why the company decides to practice individual branding. With all the brands they are associated with and own Luxottica is a global brand that continues to expand.