1-800 CONTACTS
Marketing for contact lens distributor becomes a large-scale, multi-level educational campaign,Marketing for contact lens distributor becomes a large-scale, multi-level educational campaign
The marketing partnership between Media Relations, Inc. (MRI) and 1-800 CONTACTS began in late 2000 shortly after 1-800 named Kevin McCallum as its new Vice President of Marketing.
Over the next few weeks, McCallum and MRI Senior Account Manager Heather Champine discussed 1-800's marketing issues. Together, they agreed on an action plan that began in January 2001. It soon became evident that the simple awareness campaign they were launching was far more challenging than either had imagined.
"I decided to work with Media Relations for one reason: pay per performance," recalls McCallum. "Typically public relations is like this black hole. There is a significant amount of start up costs before you ever see a return. I liked the idea of guaranteed results."
Free market versus long established practices
Some history is needed to understand what happened at the launch of this campaign. In the 1970s, many optometrists were withholding eyeglass prescriptions, forcing consumers to buy eyeglasses from the optometrist's office. In response to numerous consumer complaints, the Federal Trade Commission passed the Spectacle Prescription Release Rule, mandating that optometrists automatically release eyeglass prescriptions immediately after an examination. Retail chains like LensCrafters and Pearle Vision began to thrive, with consumers benefiting from the ability to shop around for their glasses, resulting in lower prices and more convenience.
History began to repeat itself when disposable contact lenses were introduced in the mid-1980s. Disposable contacts came in 6-packs that were small, light, easy to ship, and replaced frequently. Entrepreneurial companies began offering replacement lenses by mail order. Consumers again could benefit from lower prices and more convenience.
By the time MRI began working on the account, 1-800 CONTACTS had emerged as an industry leader in the mail order contact lens business. But its biggest obstacles to further growth were formidable: most consumers were not aware of their right to fill their contact lens prescription at someplace other than their optometrist's office. More troubling, an overwhelming number of optometrists were refusing to release the prescriptions, forcing customers to buy contact lenses from their offices at inflated prices.
Key messages needed to be communicated:
- Consumers needed to understand that they had a choice of where to buy their contact lenses.
- Consumers needed to be encouraged to exercise their rights when they encountered resistance from their optometrist.
- Retailers such as 1-800 offered a significant discount, speed of delivery, and convenience for re-ordering contact lenses.
Step One: Educating the reporters
MRI worked closely with McCallum to develop background materials and a press release designed to help educate consumers about their choices. But when MRI media specialists first began pitching the media, the surprising response was from reporters who refused to believe that an awareness problem existed.
"There was a lot of media skepticism. Reporters confused their rights for eyeglass prescriptions with those applying to contact lens prescriptions. Others who had not encountered problems themselves simply didn't believe that most consumers had a different experience," remembers Champine. "We spent a great deal of time educating reporters, convincing them that the public was having problems, and that they were in the position to help by getting this information out to their audiences."
"Once they understood the problem, we then had to encourage reporters to tell their audiences how to counter the resistance they were getting at optometrists' offices, as well as positively position 1-800 CONTACTS as the best alternative for ordering contact lenses."
MRI began by positioning 1-800 CONTACTS as a clearinghouse for information about the issues. The initial campaign explained how contact lens wearers often paid too much for their lenses because they didn't know they had options. It also focused heavily on consumers' legal or lack of legal rights to their prescriptions, depending on the state in which they lived. To bring the 1-800 CONTACTS name into the interviews, media specialists leveraged the fact that the company's Web site listed each state's contact lens prescription laws.
The press release was well received by many media outlets, yet there were some unanticipated obstacles such as stations with optometric sponsors. Because the spokespeople represented a private company, there was also concern that the interview could become too advertorial.
"These challenges sometimes required us to have multiple conversations with the same media representatives before they reported on the issue," said Champine. "We were grateful that as a client, 1-800 was extremely supportive. We worked closely with Kevin who supplied us with frequent and relevant updates on all the issues so that we could continue to go back to the media with good information. It's because we worked as a team that we achieved a good success rate."
From the time she started working on the 1-800 CONTACTS account, the media specialist team knew they needed to be well versed on the facts. "I had to know what type of laws were in effect for each state. I had to know the history. I also had to reassure the media that our spokespeople would not appear too commercial, and that they truly wanted to educate the audience," said one specialist.
The team soon developed strong tactics for getting placements. When newspapers asked what product they were publicizing, they would immediately explain that this was about issues and educating the consumers, rather than just about 1-800. Consumers were unaware of their rights and some optometrists were not complying with the law. Once reporters saw that this was something directly affecting their readers, they were more interested in running the story.
MRI's job does not stop when the interview is booked. Media Specialists work hard to ensure that each reporter understands the magnitude of the story. "The amount of preparation that Media Relations does with the interviewer is significant," says McCallum, who serves as 1-800's primary spokesperson. He explains that if the reporter is a contact lens wearer, he or she understands the issues immediately. The resulting interviews are almost always guaranteed to reinforce the message.
"If the reporter is NOT a contact lens wearer, then there is a lot of preparation that must be done or the interview is a disaster," McCallum adds. Without the media specialist educating the reporter about the importance of the issues, he says "the interview is of no value. I might as well be talking to a doorknob."
Phase one of the campaign resulted in an estimated 20 million impressions. Clearly, 1-800's message was getting out to the public, and changes were beginning to happen.
The campaign takes another positive turn
The media campaign was coupled with a tremendous amount of work by 1-800 CONTACTS and other concerned consumer groups to bring about legislative changes. Those changes soon began to snowball.
In 2001, the U.S. House of Representatives co-sponsored a bi-partisan bill that would, among other things, require optometrists to automatically release contact lens prescriptions. In August 2002, a Minnesota law went into effect giving consumers automatic and immediate access to their contact lens prescriptions following an eye exam, allowing them to select their own contact lens retailer. A similar law in California became effective the following January.
MRI's role was now to maintain this momentum in the media. "Individual states and national groups began to lobby for changes. The campaign gradually shifted its focus to the pending legislation," says Champine.
This presented more challenges for MRI's media specialists. Explains Champine, "By then, most reporters were aware of the issues and had run at least one story. But when we went back to them with legislative and FTC updates, they didn't immediately understand the significance. For other reporters, this was fantastic news because it gave them a reason to report on the situation again."
To help those reporters who needed more understanding, media specialists drew on their own in-depth knowledge of the issues, including the history, FTC rulings and pending legislation. "They needed to thoroughly understand the 1-800 account and its issues," confirms Champine. "We were also fortunate that 1-800's pool of spokespeople were not only well versed on the issues but also well spoken. That expertise from both sides of our team was essential to overcoming the media's objections."
Success is in the numbers
With true persistence, good information, and by building a solid rapport with the media, MRI was successful in making more than 52 million impressions over the first 2-1/2 years of the campaign. There have been numerous placements in regional newspapers and on local radio stations, as well as on local TV news in such prominent markets as Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Larger placements have included ABC World News Tonight, several nationally syndicated radio shows, as well as the Denver Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronical, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Pioneer Press.
The scenario in 2003 was vastly different than when the 1-800 CONTACTS campaign first began. MRI's work helped pass the Federal legislation benefiting 36 million American contact lens wearers (The Fairness to Contact Lens Consumer Act 2003). That allows the company to now shift its focus from consumers' rights to reinforcing 1-800 CONTACTS' position in the marketplace with positive messaging.
