Marketing Initiative of the Year 2018

Winner: Optometrists school recycling campaign, Lunettes Opticians

Working with local schools to support international charity, Vision Aid Overseas (VAO), provided Lunettes Opticians, with the perfect platform to build brand awareness.

Enlisting the help of local primary school children, Optometrist and Practice Director at Lunettes Opticians, Tushar Majithia, organised the collection of unwanted glasses for VAO, while also visiting schools to raise awareness of eye health.

Building strong relationships with the community was essential to the initiative according to Mr Majithia, who says they created a ‘360 campaign’ that went beyond the classroom. “We produced a leaflet for the campaign offering eye health advice and information about Lunettes services. This was given to thousands of participating children, who took the leaflet home in their book bags, thus raising huge awareness of our brand to parents and grandparents,” he explains. Local media was also targeted, and the campaign received extensive coverage. 

The initiative’s successes was evident in increased visits to the practice. “The month following the campaign saw an increase in eye examinations by 16% from 450 the previous year to 524 in November 2016,” says Mr Majitha.

"The month following the campaign saw an increase in eye examinations by 16%”

Tushar Majithia

Runners up

Finalist: Visual stress and dyslexia awareness campaign, Andrew and Rogers Optometrists

Targeting key stakeholders, aligning themselves with local events and a creative approach helped Andrew and Rogers Optometrists boost their profile.

“The aim of our campaign was to spread the word of our specialism in visual stress to as many community stakeholders as possible,” Optometric Director, Roger Smyth, explains. 

The practice used a range of approaches including a short story competition for young writers with dyslexia, which received support from the Hull UK City of Culture media team, and a leaflet created for University of Hull students.

Finalist: The @LouisStoneOptic Instagram campaign

Launching in October 2016, the Louise Stone Instagram account has proved a hit, creating a community of customers.

Despite initial doubt about using the platform, Instagram has now become one of the business’ most important channels.

“We’ve surpassed our target of 5000 optical followers, reaching 7000 by July 2017; received numerous orders, including over 200 for the Oculus UB 6 through Instagram; and created awareness of the brand and products,” shares Head of Marketing and Communications, Clare Gaba.

“We’ve surpassed our target of 5000 optical followers, reaching 7000 by July 2017; received numerous orders, including over 200 for the Oculus UB 6 through Instagram; and created awareness of the brand and products,” shares Head of Marketing and Communications, Clare Gaba.