With seamless UX in mind, John Jacobs has recently rebranded itself focusing more on phygital capabilities
Anurima Das
John Jacobs enters a new era with their changed brand identity, where their tone, style, flair, and look has been transformed to reflect the brand’s growth and evolution. With seamless UX on the brand’s mind, the recent rebranding focuses more on phygital capabilities.
Retaining its core principles, such as material innovation, high-performance optometry, exacting quality standards, approachable pricing, and an undeniable eye for style, the brand has reframed its identity to truly reflect their ultimate goal, influence, and relentless passion for experimentation.
“The spirit of innovation and experimentation is at the heart of John Jacobs’ new brand identity. The evolution of our brand’s visual language, tone, and presentation reflects our expanding role in the eyewear industry. Today, we’re embarking on a new journey, keeping a firm grasp on the pulse of the zeitgeist while making room for bold voices and iconic visions’” said Apeksha Gupta, CEO of John Jacobs.
The brand has evolved since its inception from being a challenger brand to a major global player in the eyewear industry. Despite multiple lockdowns and the consequent limitations, John Jacobs has grown by 50% as compared to FY 2021. The brand’s growth has also been fuelled by the accelerated momentum of in-store shopping, aided by its omnichannel retail model.
Rebranding for growth
With an offline presence across 7 cities in India and a robust online presence, John Jacobs has been strategically building campaigns, social and performative, along with brand partnerships that resonate with the contemporary lifestyle of their potential consumers. Keeping this pace alive, the brand has now begun to reorient and reinvent itself owing to its proliferated global footprint and diverse demographics.
“Our core was always to offer the customer a stylish, utilitarian product at an affordable price. Keeping this strong thought going, we have built our strong brand base over the years. However, after having gained a huge customer base of which 60% were repeat customers, we began to think more in terms of branding. This was when we understood that it was time to show the world the brand power and how global our outlook is,” said Apeksha.
A willingness to experiment and reframe one’s individuality is at the heart of the new brand identity. Curated and more stylized than ever before, John Jacobs is reinventing the wheel of eye fashion. With every new collection and a new campaign, Apeksha says that the customer can expect a more immersive experience. The material innovation for the brand continues as they bring intricately detailed fusion frames. It is nothing short of an eye-fashion renaissance, we are informed.
Embracing the change
John Jacobs is getting a lot more detail-oriented about how people can shop and select eyewear. With a brand-new website, optimized for ease of access and enhanced user experience, their communications have leveled up to give all the information in a compact manner. Coupled with a strategy to keep the shoppers abreast of the latest developments in eye tech, the brand’s cutting-edge eyewear features across social media ensure iconic eye-fashion choices. While the change is ongoing and the brand is building its new face, one thing that remains constant is the brand’s customer-oriented approach.
With loyalty and customer retention on the mind, the brand is emphasizing on expressive storytelling and partnering with ace collaborators on campaigns, as they aim to be a part of the zeitgeist in an impactful way.
In tandem with the rebranding, John Jacobs has also released their first-ever virtual campaign, Surrealist. Featuring change-makers and pioneering characters, crafted in 3D for an immersive experience, the Surrealist edit has allowed the brand to put together its campaign assets with minimal real-life resources spent – such as flights to a particular shoot location, the sourcing or stitching of physical clothing, and more.
“3D try-on, virtual mirrors, and customization are going to be the trends to watch out for next year. We also will heavily focus on smart-tech solutions in order to offer enhanced personalization to our customers. Apart from this, the concept of what happens at the end of the product lifecycle is going to play big for the industry, and collaboration in this space will help us devise an environment-friendly approach for the customer, keeping the planet safe,” said Apeksha.
The brand has also been able to create a surreal virtual world, populated by diverse characters that reflect its commitment to inclusivity. John Jacobs’s preliminary campaign since the rebranding, Surrealist represents so much of who they are, who they are becoming, and where they are headed in the future.
Omnichannel in action
John Jacobs is a seamlessly omnichannel brand. The brand’s retail presence today spans over 1200+ Lenskart touch-points globally alongside its own store footprints. Online, they retail through their own website and via leading marketplaces like Amazon, Nykaa Fashion, Noon, Flipkart, and Tata Cliq.
A strong customer behaviour shift is pushing the growth of the eyewear industry, Apeksha highlights. Eyewear is no more a need-based segment and it is no more a seasonal business. Today’s new-age customer loves to shop for eyewear around the year.
“At this juncture, offering them convenience is primal to a brand’s growth story. Convenience cannot just be letting them ‘shop at a click’. So, we offer varied modes of shopping to our offline and online shoppers. Assisted shopping, bots helping answer the queries and redirecting to checkout, shopping online and picking at a store, experiencing the collection through virtual trials, and buying at a store, the journeys are endless and we want to make it more diverse in the future as well,” Apesha explains how the brand is constantly striving to stay true to its omnichannel strength.
