First there was Google Glass, then Snap entered the video glass frame market with Spectacles. Now, Facebook and Ray-Ban have partnered on new smart sunglasses called Ray-Ban Stories with a camera built into the glass frame.
The Wayfarer-looking glass frames have a 5-megapixel camera to record whatever you are looking at. All the user has to do is tap the side of the glasses to take a photo or 30-second video. The frames also hold micro-speakers, microphones, and a computer processing chip. The eyewear can also answer phone calls and play music or podcasts.
The vision (no pun intended) behind the new smart glasses is to enable people to capture the moment that they are in and then post it to Facebook. Unlike the weird-looking Google Glass, the project was focused first on fashion and design, and then on the technology.
Priced at $299, the glasses also come with a charging case. When fully charged, the glasses can be used for six hours. There is also voice activation available using Facebook Assistant and paired with your phone. A small light on the frame front goes on when the glasses are recording, but the small light is hard to see, thus there are privacy concerns when recording.
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss smart glasses with students. What problems do they solve?
- Poll students: Who would be willing to buy smart glasses? Why or why not?
- Show the product on the Ray Ban website: https://www.ray-ban.com/usa/discover-ray-ban-stories/clp
- Show the WSJ video of the glasses in action: https://www.wsj.com/video/series/joanna-stern-personal-technology/ray-ban-and-facebooks-camera-equipped-sunglasses-cool-yes-creepy-yes/94A651AF-2320-43D7-AFEC-78C307FAAE00?mod=djemfoe
- Discuss the importance of clearly defining a target market.
- For this product, who is the target market?
- Divide students into teams and have each team develop a profile of a target market. Include demographics, psychographics, behaviors, values, attitudes, etc.
- Based on the target market profile, what tactics should the marketing plan include?
Source: CNN; New York Times; The Verge; Wall Street Journal; Washington Post; other news sources
