“Practitioners are our best ambassadors”

During Transitions Academy in February, Anne-Sophie Carena, global brand director, Transitions, and Cecile Doussinault, director of category and innovation development, Transitions, shared an update on the reception of the Transitions Gen S, a new launch aimed at millennials, and a tool to support recommendations.  

Reflecting on the launch of Transitions Gen S in 2024, how has it been received?

Anne-Sophie Carena (AC), global brand director, Transitions: The ambition was for Gen S to be the new standard because we really believe that all the static lens wearers should move to dynamic, because dynamic is the future. 70% of wearers surveyed said that dynamic lenses are the future.

It was the latest generation where we managed to break the compromise between darkness and speed, then we developed all these new colours. We carried out a huge amount of research into the terminology and communication we wanted to use.

Now, one year later it has taken flight and been picked up on the market. We get a lot of positive comments, not just from people who knew photochromic lenses before, but a lot of young wearers who were not aware of dynamic lenses.

Cecile Doussinault (CD), director of category and innovation development, Transitions: We wanted to change the vocabulary for consumers, to start to tell them the benefits. The benefit is that the lens is dynamic, and people’s lives are dynamic.

It will take a bit more time to change the usage and to train practices and teams. Transitions’ service team and commercial are working hard to make sure we are providing professionals with the right tools to make recommendations.

For us, the transformation is here. It is now a question of time in how we will be able to transform the market. The message is: dare to propose Transitions to a 20 or 30-year-old, because practitioners will be amazed by their feedback.

How do you hope Transitions Color Touch will appeal to younger consumers? Are there particular trends you feel this launch will tap into?

AC: At Transitions Academy last year in the prototype area we had some gradients and washed lenses and gathered fantastic feedback. The style is a trend we see coming from Asia, particularly Japan, so it’s the right moment to launch it.

The colours are based in Gen S. We know that colour is a major recruitment tool, especially for younger wearers. A large choice of colours increases the consideration of Transitions lenses for 80% of young wearers.

In communication targets, we are positioning Color Touch with millennials, because they are champions of self-expression. They even influence other generations. Gen S is universal and the gradients in our Color Touch will be likewise, but by specifically targeting millennials, we think it will bring a halo effect and help us in the transformation. That is why we have launched these 10 new colour options.

We have run some clinical studies with Color Touch. We made sure when developing the lenses we are achieving faster vision recovery, contrast, and natural perception of colours. Everything that guarantees great vision.

What led to the development of the Transitions colour matching tool?

AC: It is not just about launching a new innovation but how you activate it and present it to consumers through our customers, the eye care professionals. A cell in my team has been working on the experience and activation of the lens, and being part of EssilorLuxottica, we have access to fantastic digital technology, especially in artificial intelligence. A lot of AI is involved behind a tool like Color Match.

We know from studies that 90% of wearers, when they buy glasses, want to see how they look and fit. They want to really see themselves through the glasses and how it will look on them.

If we think about colours, we have some daring options, like ruby, and we’re now bringing gradients. We knew we needed to provide a solution [to allow wearers to see themselves with the lenses].

Color Match is only one part of the equation. We have developed demonstration tools and different ways to demonstrate the lenses. We have designed a tower display because we believe that, if you are in an optical practice and can present Transitions in activated mode and unactivated, it can revolutionise the approach to the frame board.

CD: Transitions should be in stores – it is a strategic touchpoint for us. It’s important to bring the product to life. What we have seen is that the practices equipped with demonstration tools see a better penetration. Patients would love to get more advice and take more risks, but they need to get the experience. The tool has been developed for customers to have that experience before buying.

After that, there is one thing that is easy and simple for practitioners to execute. That is for them to wear Transitions. It makes a recommendation easier because Transitions is about experience. Practitioners can describe that experience, or step outside and demonstrate the performance in real life to the customer. Practitioners are our best ambassadors.

AC: The next challenge for us is to bring Transitions into the room earlier. If you have an eye exam it is static and black-and-white. It is not a representation of real life. You might get a vision correction but you don’t get an idea that you need a light management solution, or of your light sensitivity. That is something we are bringing now, to enable the ECP to speak about Transitions earlier in the journey.

What is your parting message for practices?

AC: The future is dynamic. The present is already dynamic. Dynamic lenses are the best option for all. It is a matter of daring to show the assortment of colours and engage in discussions about light modulation needs. Keep it in mind, because it will be well received. And have fun with pairing lenses with frames.

CD: With the level of performance that we have and the different colours to suit most of their customers – there is no risk. Consumers want to discuss lenses but they don’t know anything about them. Transitions is a good way for them to start. Talking about light is interesting for the patient, it’s relevant, and the practitioner can show their expertise. When you start selecting the frame with the lens, it is even better than selecting the frame alone because you start to build your own personality.