news

Hot List: May 2008

1 Subtlety Speaks Volumes

Consumers are tired of advertisers shouting at them, says Faith Popcorn, author and founder and CEO of the marketing consulting firm BrainReserve. Instead, they want ads to "whisper" to them—to be simple and tell them how a product or brand will improve their lives. Popcorn suggests showing how your product can help people instead of bragging about it; getting involved in your community; or offering more personalized service. One example of an ad "whisper:" During the holidays, Apple simply showed how their products, such as the iPhone, work.

3 POWER Words

When it comes to making your point quickly and getting readers' attention, certain words provide more bang for the buck.

Yale University's psychology department says these are the most powerful words in the English language—try using them in your next ad.

VCA becomes The Vision Council

Based on strategic direction set by the organization's board of directors and membership, the Vision Council of America has launched its new brand, The Vision Council, to the optical industry.

The Vision Council embarked on its re-branding process in spring of 2007 to develop an identity that accurately reflects the organization, its members, and its objectives. The process included an analysis of organizational attitudes and knowledge, member and staff surveys, and a review of the optical industry landscape.

"We spent a great deal of time speaking with our members and employees, trying to figure out, in essence, who we wanted to be when we grew up," said Ed Greene, chief executive officer for The Vision Council. "By taking an in-depth look at our goals and objectives, we were able to align all of our branding elements, from our name to our logo to our messaging."

The re-branding process resulted in the development of a new core identity for The Vision Council, as well as new visual component of the brand. In addition, a new website, www.thevisioncouncil.org, was created to provide information for all of The Vision Council's audiences—members, eyecare professionals, and consumers.

While the look of The Vision Council has changed, the organization's core services will remain the same and new programs will be added. The Vision Council's branding campaign will reinforce the benefits of membership, such as research, training and education, networking opportunities, and International Vision Expo discounts and programs.

Eyecare professionals will find a new resource with The Vision Council, as the organization refines the services offered to them, such as marketing materials and continuing education courses. The Vision Council will also conduct its consumer outreach under the new name.

STAR Gazers
1. Her movie, "The Hottie and Nottie," didn't fare so well at the box office, and glamour girl Paris Hilton is on to new endeavors, including a relationship with new boyfriend, Benji Madden of the rock band Good Charlotte. Rumor has it the two are already talking about tying the knot. Only time will tell if the already twice-engaged celebutante will make it to the altar. Paris was recently spotted in Badgley Mischka style Garbo by Sama Eyewear.
2. Tina Fey, actor, writer, and producer of the hit TV show "30 Rock," strayed from TV to grace the big screen a few years ago in "Mean Girls," acting opposite of Lindsay Lohan. The Emmy and Golden Globe winner has so much talent, from writing and producing to acting, that she's bound to have a long, successful career ahead of her. Tina donned Persol model PO 2873 by Luxottica at the Screen Actors Guild awards.
3. Born Tom Cruise Mapother IV in 1962, actor Tom Cruise made his film debut playing a small role in "Endless Love" in 1981. Today he's enjoying family life with wife Katie Holmes and their daughter, Suri, along with adopted son and daughter, Conor and Isabella, from his marriage to Nicole Kidman. Tom wore Karl Lagerfeld model KL1065 by Marchon at the Academy Awards.
4. Made famous by playing Denzel Washington's girlfriend in 2001's "Training Day," Cuban-American beauty Eva Mendez originally planned on having a marketing career—she was a marketing major at California State University-Northridge. Eva was recently spotted around town wearing Chloe style Nyssa by L'Amy.
5. She may play ditzy characters, but Lisa Kudrow is no slacker when it comes to smarts: She has a degree in psychobiology from Vassar College. The former "Friends" star showed off Marc Jacobs style 191/s by Safilo at the Film Independent's Spirit Awards in Santa Monica.

Chain Link: Houchens and Cohen's Speak Out

Bowling Green, Ky.-based Houchens Industries, Inc., has entered the optical marketplace with the purchase of Cohen's Fashion Optical's more than 100 franchised locations. "We built the company for 40 years and felt it was a good time for us to sell," says Cohen's president and CEO Robert Cohen, who notes that Cohen's still intends to open 10 new franchised locations in 2008 and 25 in 2009.

Cohen also notes that only the franchise division was sold to Houchens: "The company still retains 30 corporate stores, which CFO Alan Cohen will continue to run separately."

Eyecare Business recently caught up with Houchens' president, Spencer Coates, to talk about the future of this optical chain.

EB: Who is Houchens?

Spencer Coates: We are the largest employee-owned company in the country with 13,000 employees and yearly revenues exceeding $2 billion. Our businesses include insurance, construction, retail—we pretty much cover the gamut.

EB: Why did you move into optical?

Coates: Cohen's has been around for a lot of years and has been very successful. The optical market has been growing, and it's a good time for us to get involved.

EB: What do you look for in the companies you choose to acquire?

Coates: We look for good management, long-term positive cash flow, and a management that is willing to stay on. Cohen's people will all come in as participants to our employee-ownership program.

EB: What does the future hold?

Coates: We're just going to let Bob [Cohen] help us grow the business to the extent that we can. If we can find other independent chains to join us, that would be a consideration. Plus, while Cohen's kept the corporate stores separate from this deal, that doesn't mean we wouldn't get into direct retail at some point.

Vision Expo East 2008: That's a Wrap!

This year's Vision Expo East caught New York City at its spring best. And as the town heated up, so did the opportunities at this year's event.

From the main show floor to the Galleria and the Underground, traffic was steady as the latest in frames, equipment, lenses, and optical products were rolled out.

New booths were found throughout the area and ClearVision and Safilo marked their new looks with celebrations and events. In addition, celebrities were out in force to support their namesake product lines, sign autographs, and create a glamourous atmosphere.

This year, Expo management instituted a new exhibitor locator system to help visitors navigate the show floor and reach the exhibitors by utilizing an interactive, touch-screen system to search for exhibitors by name, category, and pavilion, as well as conference course listings and information. These search results provided directions as well as printable maps for reference.

Brazilian artist Marcelo Cipis also signed copies of his art during the event with proceeds going to charity, and Kathleen Maggi, a Global Messenger from the Special Olympics Opening Eyes program, thanked International Vision Expo for its charitable donation.

Next year, International Vision Expo East will take place with education March 26 to 29, 2009, and exhibit hall March 27 to 29, 2009, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. For more information, visit www.visionexpo.com.

Vision Expo East

1. Essilor's bagpipers play for Essilor Crizal Alizé with ScotchGard Protectant; 2. Essilor of America's Mike Daley at their press breakfast; 3. Fashion guru Carson Kressley guest emcees Safilo's Saturday fashion shows; 4. Broadway's Laura Osnes performs a selection from her "Grease" role at the Optometry Giving Sight event; 5. Corinne McCormack introduces The Vision Council's Eyewear and Accessories division trend presentation; 6. At the Eyes on New York gala, honorees (l-r) Rick Elias of Transitions Optical and Julian Gangolli of Allergan pose with David Heath, OD, Ed.M., of SUNY College of Optometry. 7. At the Jimmy Choo launch party (l to r): Safilo's Brian Henke, MaryBeth Trommelen, Robin Ettinger, and Bill Harrison; 8. At the Charmant anniversary cruise, guests from Bard Optical of Peoria, Ill.; 9. EyeRock musicians (l to r): Steve Santinelli, Santinelli International; Robert Shanbaum, Ocuco; and John Alofs, ROI; 10. Peter Friedfeld greets guests at the ClearVision BCBGMaxazria shopping party; 11. Douglas Hepper (l) and Jay Lusignan from Vision-Ease Lens discuss green initiatives; 12. Essilor of America's Howard Purcell, OD, in his new role: vice president of customer development, 13. A&A Optical's Robert Liener with Mary Ozga of Marion Eye Center in Marion, Ill., the winner of a WIN BIG HDTV Giveaway; 14. The UJA's honoree Jerry Hayes gets his award from Marchon's Larry Roth; 15. Randy Jackson (l) and Jamie Shyer at Zyloware's booth; 16. At the WaveTouch CL press event (l to r): Ray Sievert, Tracey Technologies, Kevin McNaught, Sandra Zuccaro Keyes, and Kevin Bligh from WaveTouch; 17. A model on Revolution's runway; 18. Santinelli International's rimless workshop; 19. "Mastering Rimless Eyewear Assembly and Dispensing" workshop with EB's Alex Yoho; 20. B&L's Gerald Ostrov details the company's charitable initiatives; 21. Jeff Hopkins at the Carl Zeiss Vision Compact ULTRA MINI Cooper S grand prize drawing; 22. Raanan Naftalovich (l) of Shamir Insight and Eyal Hayardeny of Shamir Optical Industry Ltd., announce Shamir's revitalized Autograph line; 23. Under the EyeRock spotlight (l to r): Paul and Jason Shyer, Eastern States Optical, and Mike Cooper, Tri-Supreme Optical; 24. Signature Eyewear's Michael Prince (l) with Carmen Marc Valvo at the launch of the designer's eyewear line; 25. At the BowlMor party (l to r): Terri Nesrsta from Essilor, John Lahr, OD, from EyeMed Vision Care, Anne Marie Made, OD, Jerry Ventura, and Danne Ventura from Essilor; 26. Accessories Council honoree Marge Axelrad of Jobson Publishing with her award; 27. A collection of Olympic torches at Marchon's booth; 28. Live's Kieran Hardy is bearish on Live's new low vision collection; 29. At the iRx Polaroid booth with a fundraising car; 30. Representatives from Mido announce changes; 31. Eli Manning greets fans at the Revolution booth; 32. "Power Panel: Maximizing Your Dispensary's Potential" moderated by EB's Karlen McLean; 33. Mario Lopez at Revolution's booth; 34. PSI's Karen Gillen (r) joins Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics' Geoffrey King launching SecurEdge Plus edging pads. 35. McGee Group's Sally Hansen launch celebration, (l to r): Holly Autorina, Wayne McGee, Paula Meason; 36. Stephanie De Long's Pleiades award acceptance speech at the Optical Women's Association networking social; 37. The women of EB cheer De Long on at the OWA event.

Framebuyer Certificate Inspires Participants

The new Frame Buyer Certificate Program at Vision Expo East provided information on subjects ranging from finance to fashion. The program's trend panel, moderated by VCA's Renee Soltis, covered the hottest trends and directions for frames for the upcoming season. Panel members included Kenmark vice president of creative development David Duralde and the author of How Not to Look Old, Charla Krupp. The certificate program offers 20 hours of education overall, and those who participate in eight or more hours of Inventory Management courses receive a Frame Buyer Certificate.

On the Town

The Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation held its first annual "Night of Spectacles: An Eyewear Fashion Event," with the help of students from Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta who created garments out of donated glasses (images shown clockwise from top right) to be auctioned off to benefit the Lighthouse's eye clinic and eye surgery program. The funds will help 4,000 people receive vision care in 2008 through the clinic program so they can read, drive, and return to work.

Oakley launched its first line of eyewear designed specifically for women athletes at an event in Miami. During the launch, the Rolling O lab showed off the latest technology and Olympic medal hopeful and world track champion Lolo Jones shared her insight on optical comfort and running success.

Ilori hosted a launch party for the Proenza Schouler sunglass collection from L'Amy. The New York event attracted fashion-focused socialites Tory Birch and Mary Kate Olsen, as well as many downtown celebrities. Shown, L'Amy's Cheryl Canning, Ilori's Michael Hansen, designers Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez, and L'Amy's Stephen Rappaport.