Ray-Ban Sunglasses Case Study Submitted by:
Murtaza Ali 20057
Azika Gulraiz Sadiq 21062
Alina Naqvi 21654
Teacher:
Mr. Faisal K. Qureshi
EDC – 21 Saturday 18:30 to 21:00

QUESTIONS:
1. Evaluate the Dominant Economic Traits of the Tea Industry in Pakistan.
2. How Ray Ban is Using Music, Architecture and the Human Experience to Sell Sunglasses
3. Create IFAS & EFAS for Tapal Tea.

March, 2015
Karachi, Pakistan
IQRA UNIVERSITY

INTRODUCTION
Ray-Ban is a brand of sunglasses and eyeglasses founded in 1937 by American company Bausch & Lomb.[1] The brand is best known for their Wayfarer and Aviator styles of sunglasses. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to the Italian Luxottica Group for a reported $640 million.[2]
HISTORY OF Ray-Ban
The history of the Ray-Ban Aviator dates back to the 1930s, when new airplanes allowed people to fly higher and farther. Many US Army Air Service pilots were reporting that the glare from the sun was giving them headaches and altitude sickness. In 1929, US Army Air Corps Lieutenant General John MacCready asked Bausch & Lomb, a Rochester, New York-based medical equipment manufacturer, to create aviation sunglasses that would reduce the headaches and nausea experienced by pilots, which are caused by the intense blue and white hues of the sky,[3][4] a new kind of glasses were introduced. The prototype, created in 1936 and known as ‘Anti-Glare’, had plastic frames and green lenses that could cut out the glare without obscuring vision.[5] The sunglasses were remodeled with a metal frame the following year and rebranded as the 'Ray-Ban Aviator'. On May 7, 1937, Bausch & Lomb took out the patent, and the Aviator was born.[5]
In 1939, Ray-Ban launched a new version of the aviator called the Outdoorsman. It was designed for specific groups such as hunting, shooting and fishing enthusiasts, and featured a top bar called a "sweat bar" that was designed to catch sweat from falling into the eyes. They also featured temple end pieces to distinguish it from the standard aviator.[1] A few years later, in the 1940s, Gradient lenses were introduced. These were mirrored lenses which featured a special coating on the upper part of the lens for enhanced protection, but an uncoated lower lens for a clear view of the plane’s instrument panel.[5]
In 1952, Ray-Ban created another classic style, the Ray-Ban Wayfarer, this time with plastic frames. They soon became popular in Hollywood, and can be seen on James Dean in 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause. The now-standard G-15 green and gray lenses were introduced a year after the Wayfarer, in 1953.[5]
The company also pioneered in wrap-around glasses: in 1965, the Olympian I and II were introduced; they became popular when Peter Fonda wore them in the 1969 film Easy Rider. In 1968, Ray-Ban released the Balorama, which was best known as Harry Callahan's sunglasses in the 1973 film Magnum Force. The brand remained popular during the 60s and 70s, and gained popularity during the 1980s thanks to a lucrative placement deal, with cameos in the movies The Blues Brothers (1980), Risky Business (1983) and Top Gun (1986).[5]
In the 90s, Ray-Ban became victim to a backlash against 1980s fashion, and rivals like Oakley gained popularity among younger customers, Ray-Ban started to struggle and, in 1999, owners Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to Italian eyewear company Luxottica for $640 million.[2] To compete with other manufacturers, Ray-Ban came out with a series of innovative and sleek looking wraparound designs shown in the series of the following models: Predators, Inertia, Prophecy, Gatsby, Sidestreet and Cutters.

1950s and 1960s
The fifties were when Ray-Bans had gained recognition through American pop-culture endorsements for the first time. Kim Novak and Marilyn Monroe wore Wayfarers in public and movies. As the style grew in popularity, celebrities such as Roy Orbison, James Dean, and Bob Dylan were seen in public and on television and movies wearing Wayfarers
1970s and 1980s
As the 1970s lacked public celebrity endorsements for Ray-Ban, the 1980s was the decade of revival for them. In 1982, Ray-Ban signed a deal with a California company for $50,000 a year in order to have product placement for the brand in movies and television programs
1990s
The media of the 1990s did not show many new celebrities wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses.; however, product placement in movies and television continued, making appearances in films such as GoodFellas (1990) and Men in Black(1997).
2000s
Ray-Ban's "Never Hide" campaign was launched in March 2007. It consisted of a YouTube series and a film advocating customers to "Never pretend. Never be afraid. Never give up. Never Hide". The campaign also encourages people to live their lives with authenticity and no fear of judgment. Short YouTube videos show musicians and bands such as Slash of Guns N' Roses and Two Door Cinema Club wearing Ray-Ban products and playing live shows. The 2013 American film The featured multiple Ray-Ban models worn by various characters throughout the duration of the film.
Sales campaigns
In 2007 the company introduced a new campaign that aimed to make the brand more refreshing and compelling, especially toward younger people. Never Hide was its name; and it aimed to express the Ray-Ban ideology: "Sunglasses that place you at the center of attention beyond trends, transcending time and strongly customizing whoever wears them".
Finally, in 2008 Ray-Ban presented Ray-Ban Remasters, a communication program that consolidated Ray-Ban's strong relationship with music, and its position as a global iconic brand.[7] Ray-Ban Remasters was a partnership with eight musicians who recorded a song of their choice from the '50s and '60s and remastered these songs exclusively for Ray-Ban. These songs were performed live in a series of three events in North America, China, and Europe.
Celebrity use
Throughout the '50s and '60s the Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses were the choice of various musicians such as Bob Marley to Bob Dylan. Ray-Ban became more popular after the release of the movie Top Gun. The movie generated a 40 percent increase in sales for the Ray-Ban Aviator brand.[8] The '80s garnered great attention to Ray-Ban through movies. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd wore them in The Blues Brothers. Bruce Willis wore them in his role as David Addison on Moonlighting. From 1982 through 1987 Ray-Ban placed their sunglasses in more than 60 movies and television shows, including Quentin Tarantino films such as the 1992 crime film Reservoir Dogs.[citation needed] Cruise also wore Ray-Ban Wayfarer in Risky Business.
Internet advertising
Through virtual reality and online advertising Ray-Ban is now re-connecting with its customer/client base.[vague] Through augmented the company can demo products through the "Ray-Ban Virtual Mirror", which bridges the gap between viewing and actually trying the product.[9] Through the virtual mirror the consumer seems to try on actual sunglasses.[9]
As of late, Ray-Ban has created a Ray-Ban Remix. Ray-Ban Remix is used to create customized sunglasses. So far, the models available to customize are the Aviator, Cockpit, Erika, Justin, Wayfarer, New Wayfarer, and Folding Wayfarer. The most prominent feature of this is the ability to engrave your sunglasses on the temple tip.
Ray Bans has continued its high profile image. The company is a sponsor of Formula One race cars. It also is a supporter of the Sundance Film Festival. Every year it gives an award to a person in the film industry whose work represents vision, imagination and originality. The sunglasses have appeared in a number of Hollywood films including Breakfast at Tiffany's, Top Gun, Men in Black, Risky Business and the Blue Brothers.

Ray Ban sunglasses are world famous not only because they've been seen in countless movies and worn by countless movie stars but because they provide high quality fashionable eye protection.

The lens are made of plastic or crystal and come in lots of colors. Their non-polarized lens blocks out almost 99% of all ultra-violet rays. Their polarized lens reduces squinting and eye fatigue as it blocks out the glare from all reflective surfaces such as metal, snow, glass, and water as well as 100% of UV rays. The photo-chromatic lenses also react to different light conditions and adjust. They turn dark in sunlight and become clear when inside or in low light conditions. Unlike some sunglasses, the Ray Ban lenses transmit all colors equally so that the wearer sees accurately and enjoys all the natural colors. The lenses come in number of shapes square, rectangular, wraparound.

The frames are made carbon fiber and nickel titanium. These materials are as strong as steel but only 60% of the weight. The materials ensure that the frames can be adjusted to fit any size or shape of face. The temple pieces are injected with rubber so the glasses do not slip, not even on a hot and sweaty face. Spring hinges can be opened and closed hundreds of times with not loss of tension or strength. There are even rimless frames for people who want an invisible look to their glasses.

Ray Ban recommends that customers take care of their sunglasses and protect them against damage. The sunglasses should be kept in a case when not in use and should be cleaned with the recommended soft cloth. The glasses are guaranteed against breakage due to defects material or workmanship. With care the glasses can last decades. Ray Ban glasses are a classic combination of fashion and quality.
Every corporation wants to dominate its industry. It is what pushes mergers, he hiring of new executives, the reshuffling of management and even substantial changes to a company’s business model. All of these things are done in the furtherance of perfection, of seeking complete domination atop the precipice of industry: dominance so rare because many governments have legislated against such ambition with anti-monopoly and antitrust statutes. But what if there was a company that achieved almost complete control of an industry that was not highly regulated and had minimal barriers to entry? Would you want to own a piece, even if your main products were primarily comprised of small parts of glass, metal and plastic? From Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses and prescription frames that retail in the hundreds of dollars, to the stores that sell the glasses, Luxottica Group (LUX) dominates the eyewear world.
The Italian company had revenues of €7.313 billion last year and produced over 77 million pairs of sunglasses and optical frames. Over half a billion people wear Luxottica glasses and the company has single handedly turned a once boring eyewear market into high fashion. Their proprietary brands (68% of their total sales of frames) include two of the top sunglass brands in the world Ray-Ban and Oakley, as well as Vogue Eyewear, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Alain Mikli and Arnette.
Beyond their wholly owned brands, Luxottica holds contracts with nearly every designer brand and label you can think of, including: Chanel , Prada , Miu Miu, Dolce & Gabbana, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co TIF -1.34%., Versace, Burberry, Polo Ralph Lauren RL -2.58%, Donna Karan, DKNY, Paul Smith, Brooks Brothers, Stella McCartney, Tory Burch, Coach COH -1.42%, Armani and Starck Eyes. These deals run for 3-10 years with many containing renewal options. The fashion houses send Luxottica sketches of their new collections, and Luxottica has the exclusive rights to design and produce accompanying eyewear in house. Luxottica can then sell the glasses for many times what they cost to make.
Not only are you most likely buying Luxottica-made glasses, but chances are that you buy them from a Luxottica-owned retailer too. The company has a retail network comprised of over 7,000 stores worldwide including the top eyewear chain, Lens crafters, other big chains such as Pearle Vision and Oliver Peoples, and several boutique chains. They also operate Sears Optical and Target TGT -2.32% Optical. And if you thought that wasn’t enough, they also own Sunglass Hut, the largest sunglass chain in the world and EyeMed, the second largest managed vision care company (covering eye exams and glasses for 36 million members).
Competition for Luxottica is always knocking on the door as companies such as online retailer Warby Parker have gone from virtual unknowns to $100 million companies in only a few years.
However, Luxottica holds the cards in brick-and-mortar retail: when competitors get too large, Luxottica can simply cut them out of their popular distribution channels. That’s exactly how they treated then-independent competitor Oakley in the early 2000′s. Luxottica caused Oakley’s stock to plummet simply by carrying fewer of their sunglasses through Sunglass Hut, eventually leaving Oakley with no choice but to merge with Luxottica in 2007.
In other instances Luxottica has taken iconic brands names like Ray-Ban and transformed them. When Luxottica purchased Ray-Ban in 1999, the company was on life support and you could purchase a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses in any major chain store for around $30. Luxottica took the brand off the market for a year and then re-launched them as a luxury brand with glasses selling for over five times as much.
This year alone Luxottica purchased Glasses.com, a company that offers a unique virtual 3D try-on technology and is collaborating with Google GOOGLE to design, develop and distribute Ray-Ban and Oakley Google Glasses that should be in stores early next year. Luxottica recently brought Michael Kors into the fold by signing a new 10 year exclusive licensing deal that is set to launch in 2015.
Because such a large percentage of Luxottica revenue is derived from North America (56%) the decrease in the U.S. dollar versus the euro has negatively impacted earnings. The stock is currently trading at a pricey 35 times trailing twelve month earnings. For 2013, the company reported an operating profit of €1.056 billion and free cash flow of €610 million. Also, shareholders could see earnings volatility due to exposure to the sunglass and luxury market (54% of revenues) which are not as predictable as the prescription frames and lenses (46% of revenues).
I love when I come across a utilitarian brand like Ray Ban who, despite selling a product that doesn’t naturally lend itself to content creation (who wants to read dozens of articles about sunglasses?), has a content marketing strategy that is engaging, memorable, and, more or less, killing it.
The trick? Excellent storytelling that aligns the brand with the target market’s deeper interests. Or — in Ray Ban’s case — using music, architecture and the human experience to sell sunglasses.
Here are two takeaways from Ray Ban’s content marketing strategy that we can all learn from.
Lesson One: To Make an Impact, Create Content Based On Your Audience and What Motivates Them
If you want your content to be remembered you have to spark an emotional response. To do this you need to pick a target market, get to know them inside and out, and then align your brand with your target market’s deeper interests.
What do they want?
And not just what do they want content wise. The trick is to think beyond that. What do they want out of life? What do they want to do on the weekend? What do they want to wear? What do they want to know more about? What do they want to be when they grow up?
I’m not part of Ray Ban’s persona research team, but based on the content they’re creating I’d say the Ray Ban market is motivated by:
• Creative expression including music, film, photography, and architecture
• Travel
• A longing for inner purpose
• Vanity (IE: Taking selfies and looking cool. It’s subtle, but I’d peg a good chunk of the crowd as closet narcissists. No offense Ray Banners; it’s human nature.)
To tap into their market’s inner desires, interests, and wants, Ray Ban has aligned itself with an overarching theme that allows them to use content that has nothing to do with sunglasses to sell sunglasses.
It sounds crazy, but when done right – as Ray Ban has done – it really works.
For Ray Ban, the overarching theme that associates them with the inner desires of the market is “Never Hide.” Which – in addition to “be an extrovert and show off how awesome you look in those sunglasses” – they translate to mean be yourself; tell your story; “stay true to your vision” and find your “purpose in life” as they put it in one landing page.
This theme is emotive, memorable, and the heart of what makes it possible for Ray Ban to use engaging stories about architects to keep consumers on their website. It’s the embodiment of them reaching beyond the surface level – beyond “wear sunglasses!” – to get in touch, deep down, with what really motivates their market.
Lesson Two: A Strategy Driven By Storytelling Doesn’t Mean You Need To Write Very Much At All
Ray Ban has done an excellent job aligning their brand with the art of storytelling. They’ve even used the word “stories” to describe the content section they’ve created on their website in lieu of a blog.
They approach storytelling in four ways:
1. They hand select musicians, artists, cinematographers, and other creative visionaries to tell their stories on Ray-Ban.com (See their Envision, Never Hide Noise, and Never Hide Films segments.)
2. They invite everyday people to contribute their stories (see their Wall of Legends, Never Hide Gallery, and the bottom portion of their Envision Series), and
3. They run their own International events and create visual content to tell the story of these events (see coverage of their Polarized Tour)
4. They create fictional characters, sets and scenarios to visually tell their brand story in marketing videos and print campaigns (See their “Ronnie Show” video series, and their Never Hide print campaigns)
By associating themselves with these characters and stories (both real and fictional), the personality of the characters and the qualities of their stories naturally contribute to the collective story of Ray Ban.
It’s all goes back to aligning the content you create with the needs of your target market and their deeper interests.
Remember: Your product is not just sunglasses, or baby food, or toilet paper, or car insurance, or online marketing.
Find both your target market’s deeper purpose, and don’t be afraid to let the community who represent those interests help you tell your brand story.
It’s working for Ray Ban.