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.