Case Study: Essilor of America - "Wine & Dine" Series

Essilor of America is a leading maker of ophthalmic optical products and supplies, particularly corrective lenses. It is renowned for developing lighter, more durable lenses. Essilor's products treat the common sight problems of myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism and presbyopia.

Challenge:

• Essilor of America’s principal brand, Varilux, is one of the most established names in the eye care business. Varilux’s progressive lenses have a product functionality and reputation that are second to none. Varilux, however, was suffering from a perception that it was stagnant in the marketplace.

Goal:

• Essilor wanted to reemphasize the fact that it represented the best of class among its product, it was progressive (literally and figuratively), innovative, and still tops in the marketplace.

Solution:

• Sports Identity, Inc. helped Essilor develop the “Wine and Dine” series program. The “Wine and Dine” series invited principal influencers in each of the 20 top-selling Varilux markets to an intimate dinner attended by a local athlete hero. Using a local athlete was key to the program’s success because athletes have the power to create brand experiences that last a lifetime. Our proprietary BrandMatch® process and extensive athlete marketing network allowed us to identify the athletes that best represented the Varilux brand and image. The athlete’s speech and attendance made the event an evening to remember and conjured up “warm and fuzzy” feelings for both Essilor of America and Varilux. In Boston, it came down to two speakers: John Hannah and Jim O'Brien. Essilor chose Hannah based upon our analysis and BrandMatch® scores.

Results:

• By having each athlete discuss such topics as determination, focus and leadership, Essilor strove to influence the “influencers” by giving their top clients a special feeling that encouraged them to drive sales and move product, while simultaneously regaining its prominent position in the marketplace.

The attendees had the pleasure of asking John questions about the old days in the NFL, and they actually learned blocking techniques from one of the games' greatest offensive lineman.