April 2013

When I’m asked if we’re better off with social media, I always answer with a definitive “yes.” And here’s why.

Last week I discovered Warby Parker. They are a designer frame and online eyeglasses company based in New York. Their business was built by the founders outrage at paying extortionate prices for eyeglasses. Customers simply go on the Warby Parker website, select 5 designs they like and they deliver them to your home. You select the pair you prefer and return the ones you don’t. Not only that, but this YouTube videos shows their company mission, for every pair of glasses you buy, they give a free pair to someone in need.

There’s something really authentic about this company and after watching this you can see that their purpose goes beyond their bottom line. I went on their website – which has been beautifully crafted too – and discovered that they didn’t deliver to the UK and so I tweeted them this.
Not only did they tweet me back, but they sent me a video reply.


It’s great example  of what the social media platform allows brands to do.  A tweet back was great, but a video reply was even more personal.

Cindy Gallop, the former Chairman of BBH New York, recently said that brands of the future need to do good and make money simultaneously. And this brand is a great example of that. Their business was built because they believed Americans paid too much for glasses, but they have a goal to do good and serve society. It’s capitalism with care. The result? Well we all want our glasses from Warby Parker, of course.

I love how they use social media. They constantly reply to customers on twitter, helping them decide on which glasses to pick and to answer any queries. Whereas their Facebook platform constantly publishes pictures of their adventures; these escapades are further talked about on their website warbyparkerclasstrip.com where they give details about restaurants they visited and bloggers they’ve met. Then they have two blogs, one with a more humourous tone showing animals warbybarker.tumblr.com and the other filled with rich visual images and articles about various topics such what they're doing to help communities in South America blog.warbyparker.com. 


Thank God for Social Media

Posted on

Tuesday 16 April 2013

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Onyx marked my first visit to a Michelin star restaurant, and what a restaurant it was. 

 Everyone who knows me will point out my love of food, and how - unashamedly - I prefer food over almost everything else in life. I’m not usually one to dine in fancy restaurants, a career in marketing  doesn't really allow it. However, on a recent trip to Budapest a friend suggested we try this very fancy restaurant, and I’m so glad we did. 

 As highlighted in the pictures below, each dish was perfectly laid out and tasted as delicious as it looked. Each course was brought out to us by waiters wearing gloves who carefully explained what was on each dish and did everything they could to make make sure our glasses were never empty. 

 After going to my first Michelin star restaurant and tasting the quality of food, enjoying the décor, and talking to waiters who were as excited by the food as we were, I've built up an appetite for more Michelin starred restaurants. 







Michelin Star

Posted on

Tuesday 2 April 2013

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