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This Podcast is in Partnership with EssilorLuxottica
Dr. Darryl Glover and Sherianne James discuss how eye care professionals can leverage the Ray-Ban brand, with incredible brand awareness and consumer affinity, in their practice to create authentic brand experiences patients crave.
For transcription highlights of this interview, see below:
INTRODUCTION:
00:00:00 – 00:05:04
Dr. Darryl Glover: Welcome, Sherrianne James. How are you doing today?
Sherrianne James: I’m doing great and I was actually talking over you like the unprofessional person who’s never done a podcast because I just love that intro. It always gets me like so hyped up. You guys did a really good job with the music.
Dr. Darryl Glover: You know, we like to create an experience, just like we do with our patients. You know, we live in a world of experiences. So that’s our theme. That’s what we do, and that’s what we want to continue to do. Today I really want to dive deep into this iconic brand, Ray-Ban, but before we get started, please share with the listeners the followers about who you are.
Sherrianne James: Sure. I’m the Chief Marketing Officer of EssilorLuxottica Wholesale. So that means that I have under my responsibility such a great family of brands, including Ray-Ban and our luxury brands as well as our lens brands like Varilux and Transitions. And I basically get to partner with great doctors like yourself to help make practitioners thrive. So that’s what I do.
Dr. Darryl Glover: Awesome. Well, I know that was just a little short brief intro, but you do a lot of amazing things. And on behalf of Defocus Media and the eye care industry, I want to thank you because it’s folks like you that really put eye care out in the real world, right? You really put the brand out there. You let people know the importance of eye care and you connect with the consumers. And that’s who we need in our chairs to be able to continue to be able to practice, right? But today I really want to talk about Ray-Ban. Ray-Ban has always been one of those brands that have been around. It’s a household name. We wear Ray-Ban in my household. So today, I really want to talk about what’s going on for Ray-Ban this summer.
RAY-BAN CAMPAIGN:
Sherrianne James: Well, it’s so funny that you said your son wears his Ray-Ban because he wants to have this swag. That really kind of gets a little bit to the essence of what the brand is all about. It’s a culture. It’s an attitude. It’s a feeling. And it’s hard to believe, but it started all the way back in 1937 when there was the Ray-Ban Aviator. Since then we have had many breakthrough designs, whether it is the Ray-Ban Clubmaster in the 80s or of course this year, the big Ray-Ban Stories.
00:05:05 – 00:10:01
Sherrianne James: We have a sexy new campaign that I’m going to get to show your viewers.
Dr. Darryl Glover: That’s major swag, right!? You mentioned Ray-Ban being the center of culture, right? It’s like, to me, when I look at Ray-Ban, I look at Ray-Ban as being the pulse of everything, right? I mean, everywhere you go, this brand is recognized. And you mentioned Burner Boy. I mean, just being able to connect the dots in Africa and just all across the world. Burner Boy is a huge star! You know, my wife is from Nigeria, so I have listened and known Burner Boy for a while. When you add two iconic brands together, it’s a match made in heaven. Fantastic job. You always partner with the right people.
Sherrianne James: And it’s critical that when we launch something iconic like that, that we bring it to what I sometimes call the last mile. And it’s because what happens with consumers when you have a brand that has 94% awareness like Ray-Ban and then they see that displayed prominently on your window, not only does it look sexy and cool, it makes them think, oh, I’m going to buy a frame here. And one is one of the biggest opportunities for practitioners is what I call capturing.
00:10:02 – 00:15:11
Sherrianne James: Sometimes we call it conversion, but it’s getting people to not just get that great comprehensive eye exam, but you don’t want them to leave. You don’t want them to say like, I’m going to go somewhere else. And when they see something like that and they commit to it, and then they see the tools really displayed right there. We’ve all gone to the store and seen stuff in an end cap and then we weren’t even going to buy something and then we buy it. That’s why Ray-Ban provides that really cool tower that’s showing all the brand iconicity. That’s why we provide these really cool posters so that you can have them in the window because it really helps you to show up and have the brand in a great way and just bring that swagger to your practice. I mean, that stuff is super sexy and it’s just staying right there.
INCLUSIVE EYEWEAR:
Dr. Darryl Glover: Absolutely. And one thing that I love about this photo here is just that inclusive vibe that it gets. You know, you have really taken it to the next level when you think about your marketing. You’re not just thinking about one demographic. You’re thinking about everyone and you’re adding value to every person that walks into that office. It’s no doubt about it when someone sees themself and some type of marketing material, they are more prone to make a purchase. They’re going to want to get that. They’re going to want to hang around that store a little bit more because they feel welcome. And when I see this photo here, I am a seasoned millennial, but I do come from that hip hop era, you know, and I love to see things like this. It’s not your traditional style. It’s what’s in right now. And this is what patients want to see. I don’t care what age they are. Everybody that walks into the office wants something that’s cool, something that is hip, something that’s going to make them feel special. And when people see folks that look unique, special, different, it creates almost kind of like a contagious vibe. A contagious flow contagious feeling. Everybody wants to be a part of it.
FRAME BOARDS:
Darryl Glover: Yeah, absolutely. Something that I wanted to circle back on, Sherrianne, is the frame boards. You know, when you see Ray-Ban frame boards, they just scream to me “come buy me”. Come and purchase me! Come learn about my story, right? I think a lot of times as eye care professionals, we get so stuck in just old things. We keep doing the same thing that we’ve been doing for years and decades. And that doesn’t really resonate with our patients. We want to make sure that when they walk in our office, we’re creating a story. And your frame boards tell a story. You have to make sure that your frame boards are screaming at your patients. You’re coming in here for a reason. Number one, you get to touch and feel the frame. You get to try on this frame. You get to learn more about the different iconic frames and designs. You get to work with the expert. You get to work with the optician. You get to work with that eyewear consultant.
MEGATRENDS:
00:15:11 – 00:20:27
Dr. Darryl Glover: So yeah, you know, I haven’t caught this movie yet, the new Top Gun, but I’m glad that it’s coming to streaming soon. When I was a kid, I used to watch this movie all the time with my father. And the one thing that I do remember is definitely the jets, but most importantly, the eyewear. And little did I know that I would be sitting here having a conversation with an iconic brand, like SL exotica, talking about an iconic brand ray ban. So it’s just so crazy how the world works. But fantastic frame, this is something that should be in everyone’s arsenal of eyewear. Especially as optometrists and eye care professionals.
Sherrianne James: we ensure the brand stays fresh. We have a huge team in Milan that’s constantly studying what the new trends are. We have three big trends. The first is these thicker bolder shapes. It’s really bringing in these bold, thicker statement pieces that are making that fashion statement and making sure that you have that authentic swag. But then there’s also the transparent colors, the kind of like you can sort of see through them. And then last but not least, the mirror lens is using the chroma technology, so much of the modern lifestyle. You go in any big city, you’re seeing all of these lights and just people are so much more used to that and we want to bring that swagger into optical and so those are three megatrends that you’re going to see.
LEONARDO:
00:20:28 – 00:25:03
Dr. Darryl Glover: Leonardo’s where it’s at. You guys got to check it out. I mean, this thing is pretty slick. I mean, it’s almost kind of like Netflix of eye care, right?
Sherrianne James: Yes, exactly!
Dr. Darryl Glover: You can learn different topics, maybe at your morning huddles, or your afternoon huddles. In between patients, you can pick up a quick course and knock it out. So make sure that you tune in and tap into this because it can help elevate not only your personal education but also your team members and everyone that’s at the office level. So make sure you check it out.
