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International and Cultural Impact

International Impact

Sometimes commercial products gain a cultural significance within a new market when exported around the globe. An interesting case is how Ray-bans have a special place as a status symbol of wealth in the southern port city of Abadan in Iran. Before it's Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran was a fast growing oil rich country that was a big consumer of everything western. At the time, Abadan was a vibrant oil exporting port city with a constant stream of international visitors from sailors to corporate executives. Abadan was very much like any other sunny settlement by the sea, with a relaxed sun culture of flip flops and sunglasses. Sometime between the 1960s and the 70s, Ray-Ban became the must have brand in Abadan. The name has become a word in the local dialect and is used as the general word for sunglasses, pronounced Raybon. Most of the jokes about the Abadan region in Iran center around their love affair with Ray-Ban sunglasses. One goes something like this: An Abadani was walking when suddenly a flood hits. He quickly takes off his rubber flip flops and places his Ray-Ban's on them and and says "Save yourself, don't worry about me". Even on an Abadani social network site Abadan, the default pictures have Ray-Ban's for eyes. In 2007 the company introduced a new strategy that aimed to make the brand more refreshing and compelling, especially toward the younger generation. Never Hide was the name of the campaign; and aimed to effectively represent the Ray-Ban ideology: "Sunglasses that place you at the centre of attention beyond trends, transcending time and stongly 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 it's position as a global iconic brand. Ray-Ban Remasters consisted of a partnership with eight international music artists who recorded a song of thier choice from the 50's and 60's 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.

Cultural Impact

Throughtout the 50's and 60's the Ray-Ban Wayfarersunglasses were the choice of various musicians such as Bob Marley to Bob Dylan. In terms of cultural impact, Ray-Ban saw growing popularity after the release of the movie Top Gun. The movie generated a 40 percent increase in sales for the Ray-Ban Aviator brand. The 80's garnered great attention to Ray-Ban growing the already popular brand through movies. The sunglasses made a not-so-subtle appearance on John Belushi and Dan Akroyd in The Blues Brothers movie. During the period of 1982 through 1987 Ray-Ban placed thier sunglasses in more than 60 movies and television shows. The Ray-Ban Wayfarer brand also made an appearence on the face of Tom Cruise in the movie Risky Business. Celebrity status continued to expand the popularity of the brand. Ray-Ban sunglasses in the 1980's were seen on high status celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Costello, and TheRamones.

Applications

Through virtual reality and online advertising Ray-Ban is now re-connecting with it's already existing customer/client base. Through Augmented Reality the company can demo products through what is called the Ray-Ban Virtual Mirror. This virtual mirror now bridges the gap between viewing and actually trying the product. Through the virtual mirror the consumer experiences a fluidity that accurately replicates trying on actual sunglasses. In terms of social media outlets, Ray-Ban has a Facebook page as well as a twitter page. You can find the company on Facebook at Facebook.com/RayBan and on Twitter at Twitter.com/raybansunglassesus.