Social Listening Blog

    A product that is popular currently is the Ray Ban Meta Glasses. I was interested in writing about them because they are being used more often than they were a couple months ago. I've seen mostly influencers using them to record while outside instead of using their phones. Most of them do it because it's more convenient than holding their phone while trying to do other things. When I was looking at review videos about the glasses on TikTok most of them were actually positive. Even the comments were agreeing with creators saying it's benefiting people more. One creator I saw is blind and it can help we navgiate the world easier with the glasses. The Meta Glasses do use AI which is currently a hot topic and specifically under the blind creator's tiktok video most comments agreed that this is what AI should be used for instead of creating meaninless photos or videos and instead giving extra help to those who need it. 

    The Meta Glasses technology were made by Meta Platforms Inc. and EssilorLuxottica while Ray Ban helped with the actual design of the glasses. Meta is a company that was originally Facebook Inc before the founder Marc Zuckerberg changed it. Under Meta is also popular apps like Facebook and Instagram. According to the Meta website it's purpose is to "Build the future of human connected and the technology that makes it possible". This makes sense considering both Facebook and Instagram are social apps used for people to connect and Meta is creating the technology that allows for that to happen. For EssilorLuxottica their values are to keep creating advanced eyewear while also being sustainable. Ray-Ban is owned by EssilorLuxottica and their value is clearly to be classic seeing as their original designs have not changed much since they first started designing glasses. 

    Although there are many people who do appear interested in the Meta Glasses there are also people who do not like them very much. One example is that some commenters on posts complain that the recording time of the built in camera in the glasses is not long enough. Another complaint is the fact that when recording a video is that there is a little white light that shines to indicate that the glasses are recording. Some people want that feature gone as they want to record without someone noticing, but then other people aregue that removing that light would make it weird seeing as then people would not know they were being recorded by a random person. One creator on TikTok (itsdeenalang) posted a video of her using her Meta glasses while in a cooking class with her husband. Her video blurred other people's faces because she didn't want their identity on the internet, but she described that she felt bad because it's clear the people around her were uncomfortable with the fact that they were being recorded. One commenter (Tami) writes that we as a society have become very paranoid because of technology like this. That everything in our lives is going to be exposed online without consent. 

    On TikTok the Ray Ban Meta account has 534.5k followers. They appear to post pretty frequently as their most recent videos are only from a day ago and have fall acivities included. On their page they like to show practical uses for their glasses to show that everyone can use them for something not just people who want to look flashy or are influencers. They also follow popular video trends on TikTok trying to get more people to see what they're doing with their technology by creating videos people are more likely to see "naturally", naturally meaning it will come up on a persons's feed naturally without them searching for it. Although, there is usually a negative sides of a brand trying to follow popular social media trends. Once a large company or brand tries to partake in a trend the comments are usually filled with people saying "trend over" or "they ruined the trend". Commenters tend to see this as the brands trying to hard when they do trends on TikTok. That could be a downside to trying to relate with many social media users. 

    From what I've seen on their TikTok and Instagram pages it doesn't look like the creators respond very often to comments on their posts. They will ocassionaly respond to positive comments, but I've never seen them try and adress negative comments. If it were me I would try and adress their concerns and answer them in the best way possible. So, I agree that the company should try and adress both negative and positive comments. 

    I think in addition to social media it would be helpful to put out more articles about their technology. Although they do have articles about it now putting more out even if it's just to talk about a simple update will get more views than if they didn't. 

    From this assignment the most interesting thing that I learned was how it can be used to assisting disabled people who need a little more help than others might. Although people who are not disabled can use these glasses I think helping create more accesibility for disabled people is something that AI can be used positively for. 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@raybanmeta?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raybanmeta?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Ray Ban Website: https://www.ray-ban.com/usa/ray-ban-glasses-history

EssilorLuxottica Website:https://www.essilorluxottica.com/en/group/

Marketing in the News: Nike Therma-FIT Air Milano Jacket

        When looking for a brand or product to read about, I came across a post about a new jacket that Nike had created. The detail that made me want to read more was the fact that the jacket could be inflated and deflated. At first I was confused on how that would keep you warm, but as I started reading I find a simple answer: you inflate the jacket to make it seem as though it is a puffer jacket and then deflate it to make it more like a windbreaker. So the more inflated the jacket the warmer it will keep you. 

    One main takeaway that I noticed was that the jacket is going to be worn by Winter Olympic medal winners when they stand on the podium. They are basically putting advertisements on the athletes. Since millions of people will be watching the games, they will see the jackets that the athletes are wearing and they will be interested and do their own research. They might even go buy the jacket themselves if they really like it. Another thing that stood out to me was the fact that Nike had been designing inflatable jackets for almost 20 years. It took them a long time to finally develop something that works how they imagined it. This gives me the idea that Nike is not going to back down when they have designs and products in mind. If it takes them 20 years or more to make it then so be it. Along with trying many different designs Nike also tested different ways to inflate the jacket itself. The three methods noted were through a straw, a hand pump, and through an app on your phone. The first point I mentioned is extremely important when it comes to adverstisement seeing as millions will see this jacket this winter season.

    Overall, the value proposition of Nike is to create products that can work for everyone and anyone. With this jacket in mind, they wanted to make it so you didn't need many different jackets in your life just one that can be changed to fit your needs. They are mostly catering towards athletes as well, but again the products they sell are for everyone. Whether their buyers wear their shoes to run, their clothes to do yoga, or even some sweatpants to relax at home in, Nike is trying to make something for everyone.

    Like I mentioned before Nike is using the marketing technique of showing off its new jacket at the Winter Olympics. They will get millions of people to view their product which is what every company who are selling something would want. And again they tried so many different designs before they were satisfied with their product and felt it was suitable to let buyers have.

    A challenge that they ran into making this jacket was that they couldn't get the jacket to stay inflated for very long. It also took almost 7 minutes for the jacket to fully inflate. They would inflate the jacket right before showing it to executives so it wouldn't be deflated while presenting as the jacket would only stay inflated for about 30 minutes. However, they found a solution and you just need a small hand held electronic pump that takes only about 15 minutes to inflate.

    What makes this jacket unique is obviously how you can inflate and deflate it. Puffer jackets have been around for a while, but typical puffer jackets are filled with down feathers/material, but not any that you can inflate yourself. That's what Nike did right is that they created something most people probably thought they'd never see. I do think this jacket appeals to certain buyer personas those being athletes and people who appreciate minimalism. When it comes to minimalism, like I've mentioned before, this jacket is practically every jacket a person would need so someone who only wants one jacket can get that.

    I think their marketing approach was good. They're using their screentime to advertise to millions of people.

    If I was the brand/product manager I would have tried to create many different designs for the product. A lot of people are not willing to buy a product if they don't like how it looks so it's important to have many different variations of one product whether that be color, fabric, or texture.

    I learned that it's possible to have an inflatable jacket. That's not something I ever would have thought about before I read this article. I honestly think it's kind of cool how it works. 

Article: https://www.fastcompany.com/91424701/nike-air-milano-is-a-winter-coat-that-inflates-like-an-air-mattress

Helpful Link: https://www.nike.com/

All About Me

    

Introduction of Me

   Hello, my name is Kennedy Dabrowksi. I'm a second year at LB. I'm studying to be an interior designer. I moved here to Albany about a little over a year now from Arizona after living there for the first 18 years of my life. I enjoy the much cooler weather here and all the greenery. Some hobbies I enjoy is reading, writing, collecting physical media, and playing video games. Something I'd like to do in the near future is learn a new language and also learn guitar. At home, I have five cats and two dogs, so there is always fur on everything that I own. I also have two siblings. My younger sister is 16 and goes to West Albany High School. We enjoy spending time together and talking about her favorite anime (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure). My older brother is 21 and attends Northwestern Oklahoma Universty and plays for the baseball team there. My favorite thing to do with him was talking about video games because he always knows more about them than I do. Being with both of my siblings is always a fun time. One of my other favorite things to do is going to concerts. I've been to probably over six now, which still isn't enough, and I plan on going to more. My favorite concert was definitely seeing Metallica is concert. I was able to be right at the barricade for both nights and it was the best thing ever. I would 1000% go again.