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Virginia Eye Institute

Richmond, Virginia
Mark Johnson, Director of Optical Services

Target Demographic: Baby Boomers and 30 to 50 year olds.

What’s the Message: Reinforce the brand, promote a new location and introduce laser-assisted cataract surgery through a group of different commercials. We had gone a while without our name out there, so the branding message let people know that anyone can go to Virginia Eye, not just for an eye problem, but for all facets of eyecare, from routine to medical care to optical. We did a lot of interviews with our different providers to run them in our waiting areas, and we take clips from them and use them in different commercials.

Media Outlets: Cable TV, local affiliate television stations, YouTube, Facebook, radio, the waiting room, mobile via Solutionreach. The most effective times to be on TV depends on the age group. We reach the older Baby Boomers around the 6-6:30 pm news hour on NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX, and we reach the younger 30 to 50 year olds during the 8-10 pm prime time on TLC, Discovery and other cable learning and home improvement channels.

Return on Investment: One of the hardest things to measure for any marketing is ROI. We put different phone numbers on television advertisements so we know when the call is coming in that they got it from the ad. We used to lease the equipment to perform LensX laser-assisted cataract surgery, but with the increase in the number of procedures resulting from our television advertising we purchased our own and are looking to purchase another one.

Takeaways: The key is to be consistent and think long-term branding. When you look at it as a long-term investment, you can negotiate a better spot/time too. Keep in mind that whatever you produce should be used in different media, so make it so it can be used for radio and all of social media.