Another Look at Acuvue Case Study

Ok..., here I'm again blogging - giving my thoughts on this Acuvue Case Study which I thought I had already put behind me. But I guess not. I supposedly left out relevant information that you needed to know to have a clear and rounded picture of the case.

Well, I went back, did another reading and hopefully this time around I will able to throw more light on what was interesting, what was done well and probably what could have been improved.

It’s important that you know that the case study was about an Australian lens company called Acuvue in 2007. It’s about how the company integrated a social media (Facebook) as a marketing tool to reach and engage lens consumers - thereby regaining a lost volume of shared market.

Before turning to Facebook, Acuvue had misconceptions about social media. For example, the company had thought that Twitter was a life-taking-over activity, that social networking was for teenagers and Emo bands and worst of all; that Facebook reduced office productivity by 50% causing global recession. Hmmm!

It was difficult for me to imagine where Acuvue got all those misconceptions from. And I would like to think that there are probably a number of companies out there who do think about social networking in a similar manner. But the good news is that there are now tone of books and websites giving comprehensive education about social media.

So..., having lost a substantial market share on 1-Day Acuvue Moist brand in Q3 due to competitive brands doubling from 2 to 4 and aggressive competitive pricing, Acuvue had to rethink its marketing strategy. And going TV was out of question.

Using social media became Acuvue’s most viable option in marketing. With 55% of the people using social networks and 30% of them (18-29) on Facebook, the company launched a social media marketing campaign - Facebook Wink & Blink.

Even though this was a good move but it wasn't quiet enough as I would like to think. Facebook is just one of the Important tools of social media. It could have been a more sophisticated marketing strategy to incorporate as many other tools as possible.

How about Twitter and linking it with Facebook? And how about blogging and receiving feedbacks from consumers?

Any way, the ROI on the Facebook Wink & Blink was positive and the company did learn a lot from the use of social networking. Acuvue targeted 5000 trails and 500 purchase. In result, the company got 14,255 trails and 1,500 purchase.

There you have it people. Social media is the new thing with great impact and Integrating it in marketing plan is a plus, plus for your business.

Abaya Sannor