Big views for a BIG launch

Many guests had trialled the new lens

The aptly named Iris Bar – situated on the dizzying 39th floor of the London Gherkin – was the venue for an independent practitioner event hosted by Rodenstock last week ahead of the launch of its BIG EXACT Sensitive lenses.

The event was attended by a number of dispensing opticians (DOs) who had been involved with pre-launch trials of this new progressive lens innovation. Among them was ABDO member and DO, Paul Davies, who had been wearing the lenses over the previous two weeks.

Paul told DO Online: “I would say that the clarity of vision with these lenses is exceptional – with the feeling of being unaware you are wearing varifocal lenses. With the Rodenstock DNEye scanner, and our ability to tailor lenses to the patient’s exact requirements, we can differentiate our practice on the High Street.”

Story behind the lens

In welcoming guests to the event, Rodenstock UK general manager, Peter Travers, highlighted the company’s focus on continuous product improvement and innovation, and in working in partnership with independent practitioners.

Catherine Stahl, executive vice president of marketing and strategy, then explained the BIG Vision story behind the development of the lenses. She emphasised the uniqueness of the product, and its objective to improve the visual experience of the patient through individualisation.

She explained how measurements from the DNEye Scanner go directly into the lenses – and that due to the company having large-scale datasets, the best lens solution could still be dispensed by practices using four standard measurements taken in practice.

Dr Alexandra Sipatchin, global product manager lenses and neuroscientist

Dr Alexandra Sipatchin, global product manager lenses and neuroscientist, gave an overview of how the brain and eyes interact to create a person’s visual system. She explained Rodenstock Visual Sensitivity Index – and how it enabled the development of high and low sensitivity lenses that accounted for an individual’s sensitivity to optical aberrations.

Jason Halsey, UK product and training manager, then shared feedback from UK wearer trials and testimonials, which to date had been overwhelmingly positive. He encouraged practitioners to “start with the best” and offer BIG EXACT Sensitive lenses as standard. He also confirmed that a single vision version was in the pipeline.

Remember to smile

Guest speaker for the event was ‘retail futurist’ Howard Saunders, who posed the question: will robots rule the world? In short, the answer was no. Howard suggested that understanding the customer was fundamental to retail, as was assuaging customer guilt.

He explained how the face of retail had evolved to a point where a retail space could be an immersive experience – an art installation, a place of theatre. In relation to optical practice, Howard suggested inviting patients in for special events, championing locally sourced products, encouraging human interaction, and making them feel respected and valued.

‘Retail futurist’ Howard Saunders

Howard extolled the virtues of ensuring the retail experience was inconvenient and exclusive – rather than soulless and convenient. He suggested using free AI tools to get creative and generate interest in high-tech products and services.

“Embrace good technology, e-health and used data to collect as much information about your customers as you can,” he told guests. “We need authentic human interaction more than ever before – and remember that if you are in retail, you are in hospitality. Combine technology with humanity – this is the future. And remember to smile…’

In practice support

To close the event, UK marketing director Lucy Hunt gave an overview of the campaign support tools available for practices to share the features and benefits of the lenses with patients.

These included a rotation index tool to help explain the sensitivity index, a large window display, an information video to play on practice screens, and a QR code that patients can scan to watch the video on their mobile devices. The company has also introduced magnetic displays and cards, and a lanyard for the practice team to wear displaying QR codes linked to videos.

BIG EXACT Sensitive lenses will be launched on 1 March at 100% Optical.