Meller's 11M Triumph: What Strategies Can Your Brand Learn?

Established in 2014 in Barcelona, Meller, the Spanish sustainable eyewear brand, was founded by Sergi Benet, Borja Nadal, Marco Grandi, and Chris Erthel. Their shared vision was to create stylish and affordable accessories inspired by adventure.

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Meller's fame extends beyond its products. It's propelled by creative marketing campaigns and a strong social media presence. 

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Meller's earnings for 2022 reached 11 million euros, showing a significant 97% increase from the previous year. 

Let's explore how Meller achieved this growth and established itself as a successful European Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brand.

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1. Decoding Meller's success: Connecting with Gen Z

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Meller's success is rooted in strong values that resonate with a broad audience, particularly Gen Z. 

• Design and style: Meller's emphasis on stylish and contemporary products distinguishes it, infusing vibrant colours, unique patterns, and a mix of materials for a distinctive style.
• Affordability: Prices range from £49/£79 vs competitors like Ray-ban with their cheapest model at £123. 
• Commitment to sustainability: 45% of their eyewear’s materials are from natural resources, and their sustainable packaging is made from tree fibre-derived paper and cardboard.
• Accessibility and inclusivity: All of their models are unisex, there is no distinction on their website or collection. 

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2. Meller’s marketing and digital strategy: UGC, Ads and influencer collaboration 

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From day one, marketing has been pivotal to Meller's exponential growth.  

Their strategy is heavily based on experimentation and testing. Moreover, their marketing team is decentralised to create tailored strategies for their local audiences. 

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“Build your culture around testing and experimentation.” - Chris Erthel, Meller co-founder and CMO

Meller’s main social media channels are Instagram (380K followers) and Facebook (343K followers). 

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Their brand identity and voice tone are highly recognizable and unique. They focus on bold aesthetics and funny visuals. 

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2.1 Facebook ads with augmented reality (AR)

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A notable highlight is their successful integration of augmented reality (AR) ads into their digital campaign. This innovative approach, developed with Chopsticks Digital, allowed customers to try on sunglasses virtually, significantly enhancing user engagement. The results were striking: a 74% reduction in cost per purchase and a 3.7X increase in purchase lift for campaigns featuring AR ads.

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They run more than 800 daily advertisements and conduct more than 40 A/B tests daily on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. 

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2.2 Meller’s product pages: Optimisation with user-generated content (UGC)

A standout strategy is their use of visual User Generated Content (UGC) on product pages, significantly boosting their online store conversion rate. 

This involved encouraging followers to share product photos using the hashtag #MellerBrand or #Meller. 

They also collaborated with micro-influencers to create content on Instagram and TikTok. 

Not only that, but they often repost the creator’s content and UGC on their page and website too!
This strategy allowed potential customers to see real-life usage of the products, enhancing the shopping experience and relatability.

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They partnered with Flowbox to integrate UGC on their website seamlessly and the results were significant, with 13.05% of visitors interacting with UGC and an overall conversion rate increase of 13%. 

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You can find UGC everywhere on their website, including a gallery of content from creators, customer reviews with pictures, Trustpilot reviews, and a guide on how to style their sunglasses.

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This shows how they are mastering the use of UGC to boost their conversion rate and improve their shopping experience. 

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2.3 30th Sónar Festival x Meller 

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In a bold marketing move, Meller partnered with the Sónar Festival for its 30th anniversary to design a limited edition of sunglasses, which they then “lost” at the festival. 

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This guerilla marketing tactic involved hiding the unique, red, numbered “Sónar30” sunglasses throughout the festival venue, turning their search into an engaging activity for attendees. The concept of missing sunglasses created a buzz, with only a few lucky ones finding them. 

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Adding to the excitement, Meller collaborated with ambassador Leïti Sene, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of an artist's journey to the stage.

The sunglasses were also sported by artists like Mochakk, Grove, and Omagoqa during their performances, further amplifying Meller's presence at the festival.

This campaign not only showcased the sunglasses as ideal for festival-goers, but also cleverly integrated the product into the festival experience, making it memorable! 

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2.4 Annie Brooks (@SausageLord) x Meller’s Halloween limited edition

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Meller's Halloween limited edition was a bold and fun marketing initiative, featuring a "Scariest Collection" of numbered and limited orange-tinted sunglasses. 

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The campaign included a playful storyline with Annie Brooks (@SausageLord) on a mission to collect victims' heads with Meller glasses still in place. 

They also did a prank video that went viral! 

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In conclusion, Meller's rapid rise to fame is due to the brand's ability to captivate global consumers with a unique blend of style, sustainability, and strategic marketing.

With innovative and fun social media campaigns, they captivated their audience and became one of most sought-afterr eyewear brands. 

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