The #Reflections app lets users take a selfie and fuse their own reflection into the image, creating unique photos and a fan community where people can share their reflections and react to others. Ray-Ban then used the fan-generated imagery to promote the app in their product campaigns.
Arguably, one of the most ubiquitous, international and intercultural phenomena borne from mobile cameras is the selfie. Taking a selfie is a universal experience for anyone with a smartphone.
Silver and People’s Lovie Award Winner agency Gents from Belgium played right into this with their collaboration with Italian eyewear brand Ray-Ban, creating a mobile experience based on the wildly popular selfie trend of people taking photos with reflections in their Ray-Ban lenses.
It’s an app called #Reflections, which lets users take a selfie and fuse their own reflection into the photo, creating unique images and an interconnected fan community where people share their reflections and react to others. Ray-Ban used the fan-generated imagery to promote the app in their product campaigns online and off.
In partnership with Google for The Lovie Letters Series, The Lovie Awards team spoke with Gent to hear firsthand from the #Reflections project team about the conception of this project, and how they created to a unique, and fitting, branded experience for Ray-Ban. Here’s some of what they had to say:
Was there a secret sauce or magic ingredient?
Our contacts at Luxottica are real forward-thinkers. They are open-minded, and really listen to what we -- as specialists -- suggest. Countless kudos to global Advertising, Media & Digital Director Erika Ferszt for being so open [to] innovative ideas. She gave a little, brave interactive agency the chance to create amazing work. And, Global Director of Social Media and Digital Innovation Nathan Gray is really awesome to work with. He’s humble, smart and we love him for his vision and way of approaching things. He has a strong opinion, but at the same time had an open mind throughout the project, allowing us to take the project from brief to implementation to the next level. If you have a click on personal level, mostly the result is awesome as well. With every client we have to feel a connection. If [not], the work might not have enough soul and will not [resonate] with the audience.
When did you first know this project was going to be something special?
Our ‘aha’ moment came when we saw how much potential the app had, and realised it could be very relevant to the brand and to the fans. Transforming it from a photo app to a visual community, and creating a crowd-sourced network fitting the lifestyle of Ray-Ban. At the final phase, it’s no longer just a branded photo application, but a world of #Reflections where people can interact, share visions and reflect their personality.
What role did Google products play in the project?
We used Android, Google Chrome / WebGL, Google Maps and YouTube. The app has an Android version.
What was the most rewarding part of this project?
When the app started to get noticed. Watching the #Reflections user base grow steadily. The app’s download numbers started to increase and we saw more and more #Reflections appearing online. Scrolling through the submitted #Reflections, exploring the #Reflections hashtag on social channels and reading the raving Play and App Store reviews. All around the world, the photographic universe of #Reflections [grew]. Overall, the reactions were very positive. Especially, when the Android version was released we made a lot of fans very happy!
Read more on the full Lovie Letter Series, presented by Google, for all of these insights and more.
