case study 1

Optrafair 99 – How to make a spectacle of yourself

Every second year a huge show at the NEC, Birmingham is organised by the Ophthalmic Exhibitors' Association (OEA) to showcase the latest designs from eyewear manufacturers around the world, as well as promote new ophthalmic technologies. Called Optrafair, this is the UK's largest eyewear show and includes high profile brand names from Gucci and Calvin Klein to Barbie and Manchester United.

Visitors to the show are exclusively from the optical industry, but for Optrafair 99 the OEA wanted to reach these people in new ways and to raise awareness among the public. The OEA asked us to come up with a radical campaign that would gain media coverage in the national and consumer press, as well as create high levels of awareness in the optical trade press.

To interest the non-trade press in a show that is trade only, we had to come up with something significantly different and eye-catching. The solution was to send 150 spec-wearing celebrities paper and pencils and invite them to draw a picture of themselves in their glasses. To encourage them to do this, we organised an auction at the show at which the portraits would be sold with all proceeds going to the UK charity Fight for Sight.

We were amazed at the response: we received over 25 drawings from celebrities such as Bill Wyman, Barbara Windsor, Steve Wright, Jimmy Savile and Caroline Ahearne (aka Mrs Merton). This gave us great visuals for the press with a real celebrity angle, and we secured exclusive coverage in The Express, Woman's Own, regional press and on television. It also provided an excellent story for the optical trade press. Compared with the cost of buying the equivalent advertising space, we gained over Ł100,000 worth of coverage.

This was only part of the PR programme we carried out to promote Optrafair 99. More general stories were generated for the trade press in the months leading up to the show. We also ran a fully-staffed on-site press office for the three days of the show, and worked with a film crew to create videos that ran on external TV monitors, even interviewing showbiz celebrities such as designer Jeff Banks and Ronnie Corbett!