Vision Canada Calgary: Striptease Yields Terrific Results!

By Paddy Kamen

Marc Jacobs

Key presenters wore garbage bags over their torsos on the Sunday morning of Vision Canada Calgary. It was Nov. 15, and no, the airlines hadn’t lost the luggage of Mary Field, Caroline MacIsaac-Power or Nick Atkinson. Their presentation began at 8:30 a.m. sharp and the room was full of conference attendees who were, quite frankly, much better dressed than the presenters. But the story told by the presenters was compelling. They outlined why all optician regulatory bodies, associations and teaching institutions joined forces two years ago to address the public’s misperception of the role of opticians, and to help create pride and solidarity within the profession through a re-branding strategy.

The presentation was top notch, the development and rationale for the strategy was thoroughly explained, and the steps going forward were outlined. Then the craziness started and the ensuing mayhem from the podium saw a striptease to the song ‘Celebrate’ and the revelation not of nudity (which would have been too much to take early on a Sunday, even for opticians) but rather new t-shirts with the Licensed Optician logo. As the music pumped, Mary, Caroline and Nick threw rubber eyeballs and t-shirts into the crowd. It was a gas, as we used to say back in the day.

Optician attendees enjoyed the show and are pleased with the rebranding. Martin Hu, from +Ma Eyewear in Calgary observed that in Asia there is no differentiation between opticians and optometrists but that in Canada it is essential that opticians let the public know who they are. Arif Munir, from the Coquitlam Optometry Centre, was “very excited about it. I work for an optometrist and he comes to me all the time for information as we work together. And yet, overall, I think our profession is degraded. This will really help.” Donna Layden, from H&H Optical in Drumheller commented: “This is past due and will make a huge impact on the public. I would like to see it on a license plate.” Linda Evert, who works at Costco in Edmonton, noted: “I went through four years of training to become a contact lens fitter and optician and I don’t think the public knows that. They are always surprised when I tell them. I think the rebranding will help to address this lack of awareness.”

To learn more about the Licensed Optician branding and to obtain materials to help you promote this excellent initiative, visit: licensedoptician.ca.

Speakers at the conference included Bill Hutton, recently retired general manager of Pepsi, who gave an interesting presentation on how Pepsi has historically established its brand and maintained its impact. James Ahola also spoke on branding and related a powerful story about the origin of the phrase ‘the real McCoy’. Jean Luc Brassard—Canadian Olympic Gold Medal Mogul skier, participated in Essilor’s lecture on the visual challenges of the Canadian winter.

Brassard was also involved in the exciting draw for the winner of a trip to the Olympics in Whistler, B.C., sponsored by Lanctôt and Vision Canada. Only three names where in the draw — two were the winners of a pair of skis at the Kelowna and Halifax Vision Canada conferences, and the third was the winner of skis at a pre-draw in Calgary — and the sense of anticipation was very keen. Joyce Hiltz, from Sackville N.S., was the proud winner. Congratulations Joyce!

            Viva Italiana!

Vision Canada was very fortunate to have the participation of ANFAO, the Italian Optical Goods Manufacturers Association, at the Calgary trade show. Organizers of MIDO, possibly the world’s leading eyewear expo held annually in Milan, were also in attendance. As the last stop on an international tour of optical shows that included Rome, Paris, Las Vegas, Tokyo and Hong Kong, they were happy to be in Canada, a market they consider promising.

ANFAO’s associate companies and MIDO exhibitors were: Danor, Eyetechnologies Group, GB Occhiali, Italian Style, Nico Design, Area, Saf Ottica, Symboline, Thema and Trevi Coliseum. Several, including Thema and Eyetechnologies Group (a low vision device provider), are seeking distributors in Canada and were somewhat disappointed with the number of attendees on the trade show floor.

Giovani Vitaloni, CEO of Nico Design and member of the ANFAO council was one of the few participants who already has a Canadian distributor for his Vanni collection in Daniel Laoun,  of Montreal-based Georges et Phina, who was in attendance as well. Nico is known for innovation in chemical etching on temples and a new technology for applying colour to frames in a vacuum environment. “At a certain point one needs local knowledge to export successfully,” says Vitaloni.

Vision Magazine toured the booths and spoke with Francesco Gili, marketing manager of MIDO. The quality of the products was superb and the innovations were truly impressive. “It is essential to communicate the value and innovation of Italian eyewear,” notes Gili. “We want to enhance the reputation of Mido in Canada and also demonstrate the creativity and high quality of our Italian eyewear and eye industry designers and manufacturers.”

Product Launches

Other good news from the trade show floor included the launch of Swap Eyewear from Audace Lunettes. This mid-range, made-in-Canada line of innovative temple-swapping eyewear was first introduced at Silmo 2008. The collection was licensed to Audace November 1, 2009.

Other new products on the floor included Clip on Plus Optical Group showing the impressive new Guy La Roche collection, Nalstar Vision Inc. presenting their Slides Eyewear with slide-in temples in 80 designs, and Beverly Bergen featuring a fabulous collection of Jee Vice sunwear and ophthalmic frames.