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Warby Parker Spring and Palm Canyon Collections

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New Image5    Warby Parker Spring Collection 2014 Home Try-On Box

About Warby Parker

Warby Parker is an eyewear company with a mission to not only sell affordable and stylish glasses, but to also give back by donating one pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair sold. Originally created by four friends, Warby Parker’s innovative business strategy has resulted in a memorable and quirky company personality, a strong sense of corporate responsibility, and high-quality products. From their authentic desire to help others to their marketing strategies like the home try-on program, it’s no wonder Fast Company has named them the number one most innovative company in retail. Read the entire article here.

Needless to say, when Warby Parker reached out to me to write a post about their Spring and Palm Canyon Collections, I jumped at the opportunity.

At-Home Try-On Program

To learn more about their glasses, I ordered 5 pairs (3 frames, 2 sunglasses) through their at-home try-on program. This is one of my favorite qualities of Warby Parker. Their at-home try-on program allows you to select five frames you want to try on, they send them to you (their shipping is lightning fast), you try them on, and ship them back for free after five days.

They have a hashtag #WarbyHomeTryOn where people tag pictures of themselves wearing their five choices and people can weigh-in on what looks best (including Warby Parker!). I could go on and on about what an amazing concept this is. I highly recommend participating in this program even if you do not end up purchasing a pair. It’s easy, fun, and free!

Warby Parker Spring Collection

Warby Parker’s Spring Collection

All of the frames and sunglasses I ordered through the at-home try-on program are part of Warby Parker’s Spring Collection. With eight new shapes and six new colors, there’s a little something for everybody. It’s such a whimsical collection, I love it!

I surprised myself because I actually loved every single pair I tried on. Who would have thought a bright blue frame would look good? Personally, I liked their “Finch” frames and “Lowry” sunglasses the most. Their over-sized qualities made my nose look thinner and smaller (always a plus) and were fun enough without distracting from the rest of my face.

Which ones are your favorite? Tweet at me or comment below! 

Warby Parker "Finch" frames http://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/women/finch#grenadine

Warby Parker “Finch” frames http://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/women/finch#grenadine

Warby Parker "Burke" frames http://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/women/burke#sugar-maple

Warby Parker “Burke” frames http://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/women/burke#sugar-maple

Warby Parker "Lowry" sunglasses http://www.warbyparker.com/sunglasses/women/lowry#green-citrine

Warby Parker “Lowry” sunglasses http://www.warbyparker.com/sunglasses/women/lowry#green-citrine

Warby Parker "Reilly" sunglasses http://www.warbyparker.com/sunglasses/women/reilly#marzipan-tortoise

Warby Parker “Reilly” sunglasses http://www.warbyparker.com/sunglasses/women/reilly#marzipan-tortoise

Warby Parker "Walker" frames http://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/women/walker#canton-blue

Warby Parker “Walker” frames http://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/women/walker#canton-blue

Warby Parker’s Palm Canyon Collection

Unfortunately, the Palm Canyon Collection frames were not available through the at-home try-on program. Regardless, I still love this collection! It’s extremely light, refreshing, and playful. Inspired by Palm Springs, each pair makes you yearn for summertime – or at least spring break!

My favorite design concept of this collection is the light-wash wood on the “Wheeler” sunglasses and the fact that no two pairs in this collection are alike! The warm, resort feeling of this collection will brighten up any outfit.

 

Warby Parker not only produces amazing eyewear, but they have such a great mission backing them. I’m excited to see where this company goes from here. They’re really going to make an impact in the world!

Please check out their other frames in other collections as well! I strongly encourage you to participate in their free at-home try-on program even if it’s just for fun!

Warby Parker, you’re doing it right.

I was not paid for this review. No samples were provided to me by Warby Parker. All opinions are my own.
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February 20, 2014 by
Lifestyle

Desserts&Dialogue: Social Networking

desserts and dialogue

This past Wednesday, I attended one of Chapman’s Career Development Center’s Desserts & Dialogue which focused on social media and networking.

Desserts and DialogueThe speakers were Tracy Chambers ’11, TOMs Marketing Coordinator, Jeff Whitlach ’08, Creative Director at Genie Den, and Sheri Lehman ’11, Interactive Marketing Specialist at Chapman University.

Tracy spoke about how she primarily began with gifting and then moved up to influencer marketing. She talked a lot about being conscious about how the brand is portrayed. TOMs has a very authentic, humble, and down-to-earth vibe, so they would want to contact stylists and celebrities to represent the brand that share those same values.

Jeff shared about his two social media experiences and his time helping out his family restaurant, Genie Den. In terms of customer service, Jeff stressed that social media is #1. For his family restaurant, Facebook and Yelp have been the most useful. He decided to respond to all of their negative Yelp reviews. Basically, if a brand ignores feedback, consumers will engage with each other and feed the negativity. He also touched on how different networks are great for different brands – for example, Twitter is a great tool for experience-based brands.

Sheri is my supervisor at work so it was fun to hear her talk about her experiences. She touched on what I discussed in my other post about social media for higher education establishments (check it out!). Sheri also gave some really great advice – to start branding yourself on social media as part of your resume/portfolio if this is a field you’re interested in. She’s completely right – that’s why I’ve been working so hard on my blog and Twitter. She said if your social media presence isn’t something you’re proud of, then don’t go into social media. Hard to accept, but very true. She also suggested buying your domain name. It’s good to claim your name on the internet before somebody else does.

Since there were only about 5 other students attending the dialogue, it was a great chance for us to have a discussion and ask questions. Overall, a very great professional opportunity for me and I learned a lot from these three extremely inspiring individuals.
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September 15, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Doubling Chapman’s Pinterest Following: How I Did It

pinterest

I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work with Chapman’s Strategic Marketing and Communication department this past year – specifically within their Interactive Department. I’ve been given a lot of responsibilities that I’ve found have helped me grow significantly as a young professional in the marketing industry.

One of my responsibilities that I would like to highlight right now is creating, gathering, organizing, posting, and writing copy for all of Chapman’s Pinterest posts. Now, many people my not even know that Chapman is on Pinterest. But at the time I was trusted with this responsibility, there were about 350 people who were following their boards. Now there are 864. So how did I do it?

The answer is simple: I started thinking as a student. What could possibly make me want to follow my university’s Pinterest account? I asked myself, what do I like to pin on my own board? The answer is probably what most women ages 18-45 would answer – recipes, crafts, fashion, DIY, career tips, and innovative ideas/tips. These are also the most popular subjects on Pinterest as the majority of the users fall into that demographic. The tricky part was figuring out how a higher education establishment could possibly post with these topics in mind without losing credibility or spamming its users.

I researched what other universities were doing effectively. One university that stood out was Butler University. They have almost 1,000 followers. Their use of “repinnable” content blew me away and was still appropriate for their brand. Using them as inspiration, I developed the following boards to implement on Chapman’s profile:

  • Healthy Panther – recipes for living in the dorms, exercises to do in dorm rooms or tight spaces without equipment, healthy living tips
  • Independent Living – “life hacks,” money management, organization, manners, laundry, other fun tips and tricks for life
  • Academic Success – study tips, vocabulary lists, organization, funny study memes, brain food ideas
  • Career Tips – resume and cover letter tips, how to dress professionally, interview advice
  • Chapman Events
  • Chapman in the News

The first four boards were widely successful. The other two had a good response as well, but did not attract quite as much engagement as the others. Through the implementation of popular but relevant hashtags and these new “repinnable” content, engagement spiked and followers increased dramatically. Almost a year later, there is more than double the amount of followers than before.

Check out Chapman’s Pinterest page here.
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September 10, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Chegg’s Marketing Understands Students

chegg

I recently rented all of my textbooks through Chegg and was happily surprised to find all sorts of goodies in the box – not just my stuffy, boring textbooks. Wedged on top of my Microeconomics book was a Red Bull. Next to that laid some travel sized TRESemmé shampoo and conditioner, 5 Energy Gum, and a coupon for Hulu Plus.

This little tiny gift has a serious impact. The gesture tells students, “Don’t worry, we’ve got your back.” It’s a pat on the shoulder, a push to the right path, a smile in our direction. Telling us that we don’t have to face another school year alone.

But above all, it creates a loyal relationship with us. I obviously want to purchase my books from a company that rewards me for being financially savvy and caring about my education. They also don’t send random promotions or useless gag gifts. They understand what students want – and need. An energy drink? Yes please. Travel sized shampoos? Perfect for when I visit home. Hulu Plus offer? Procrastination central. Why would I order with anybody else?

Buying textbooks is often a cause of extreme anxiety and frustration for many students, but companies like Chegg are learning how to make this process easier. They strive to lighten the burden financially and mentally. I could go on and on about how amazing it is that Chegg offers such low rental prices, but that’s another topic for another time.

This is the kind of marketing that excites me. It’s innovative. It’s fresh. It doesn’t feel in-your-face or superficial. It has a clear message and creates a strong following of loyal customers that will return semester after semester. Well done, Chegg.

 
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September 2, 2013 by