Warby Parker Class Trip and Social Media

Today is our last day of classes, and reflecting back on my first year of business school, I can wholeheartedly admit that I have had some pretty dynamic marketing experiences in the classroom.

So far my favorite class has been Advertising Management and my reasons for liking this class really lie with the strength of our in-class discussion.   I think that the opportunity to talk about and discuss ads are a really important component of the creative process and can really speak to a deeper understanding of what these ads really mean.  Furthermore, I think the ability to add an academic understanding to these ads-- specifically what the ad means, and a point-of-parity/point-of-differentiation can really help viewers understand how the ad speaks to certain parts of the consumer demographic.

For example, the discussion in which we talked about social media and the implications of a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram strategy were really important.  At work, and specifically within the investment banking/finance industry, many companies view a social media strategy, and platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as risky.  These companies feel that they cannot control aspects of the conversation that take place between users of their products and services.  What these companies fail to understand is that Facebook and Twitter conversations should not be monitored, but can be used to glean insights about what the public is saying about the brand, and later use that information to make key insights and recommendations.  

That said, when completing our LiveCase on the Warby Parker Class Trip, and looking deeper into why the company uses social media to demonstrate its positioning as a point-of-difference, I think this aspect speaks directly to the Warby Parker demographic. This demographic believes heavily in an alternative lifestyle and other aspects that make it different from other target groups. What's more, the Warby Parker Class Trip campaign also features regular people (in terms of the people in their target cities) who are also Warby Parker enthusiasts and have a strong understanding of the Warby Parker brand.  I think that the Warby Parker Class Trip campaign makes a strong case for the importance of a social media/digital marketing strategy and how it can really be used to demonstrate an understanding of brand's target through unique and non-traditional platforms.