Sunglasses maker Ray-Ban is spinning a new take on the traditional campaign for change by appealing to the humorous side of consumers through social media.  

The movement, named #campaign4change, is organized by the Order of Never Hide, Ray-Ban?s ?not-so-secret secret society? and includes a contest. The goal is to steer social media posts away from the traditional pictures of food and puppies, and do something different and interesting. 

"A company or brand connecting to consumers can be likened to a human consuming food or drink in order to live," said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta, GA. "Consumers are the lifeline of a business and how they interact, engage, sign up and/or purchase is in direct association to how effective the company or brand engages their current and potentially new consumer base.

?It is critical to connect to consumers and the best way to do this is to connect to them where they are, i.e. mobile and social," she said. 

Contestants create their own unique campaign for change, such as a campaign for ?casual everydays? instead of casual Fridays, to make history, and one for saving the unicorns. Entries are submitted on social media and through the Never Hide mobile-optimized site for a chance to win a trip for two to an exclusive Ray-Ban event in New York. 

The overall image is very important for brands such as Ray-Ban, and with this new contest, it is appealing to its demographic that is interested in this type of amusement. Not only is it a unique approach on social media, it is a comedic method. 

Ray-Ban?s appeal to consumers and its branded image is the coolness factor of the products. All marketing aspects coincide with the trendy image the brand has consistently built up. 

This genre of campaign stands out with the focus on humor and also with its presence on social media. 

"Using humor to connect to consumers can be great if implemented in a non-offensive way to the masses," Ms. Troutman said. "Humor can be tricky as it can sometimes alienate a certain demographic, finding the proper humorous message and crossing demographics while doing so is well worth the time and research to create the proper message for a win across the board.

"If a company or brand succeeds in creating a smile or laugh from a large group of consumers they will be rewarded with shares, likes, forwards, and possibly the enviable viral campaign.?

Not only does it help Ray-Ban greater develop its general persona, but it markets specific sunglasses as well. Ray-Ban chose various sunglasses to coincide with some of the feigned campaigns. 

For instance, for the campaign ?Winning is Everything,? Ray-Ban chose a bronzed aviator, in reference to a bronze medal. 

The grand prize of the contest includes business class travel, VIP tickets to the event, lodging in a four-star hotel and the winning entry featured in Times Square, New York. Other prizes include entries featured in paid-for Facebook campaigns, entries showcased in Ray-Ban?s flagship stores in New York and London and shout-outs on the Ray-Ban social media accounts. 

The sunglasses brand has invited its fans and consumers to vote on the winning campaigns. 

Brands are constantly developing campaigns to coincide with individuality and uniqueness on social media. It is a popular marketing concept that grabs the attention of the consumer. 

Recently, apparel and accessories retailer Coach took a similar approach and invited Insta-famous personalities to customize pictures of bags in their own manner to celebrate consumer individuality (see more).

Furthermore, according to a panel at Forrester?s Forum for Marketing Leaders, brands that market through social media need to focus on creating overall authenticity and positive image through multiple channels (see more). 

Brands such as Coach and Ray-Ban are following that format with these campaigns. 

"This campaign has a good chance of being accepted by consumers using a 'Monty Python' type of humor that has been proven," Ms. Troutman said. "The humorous side, along with the ability to vote to engage consumers is different and unique enough in a campaign that this could have a positive return.  

"The site is well done and does allow Ray Ban to track clicks to the site and hopefully engage these users to purchase with a link to buy directly below the non-sensical humor," she said.

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