Contact lens specialist Ciba Vision is aiming to encourage teenagers who wear glasses to try contact lenses instead with a free cinema ticket promotion.

In the US, 26% of 12-17 year olds who require vision correction wear contact lenses compared to only 2% in the UK. Ciba Vision wants to grow the teenage market in the UK, and commissioned Haygarth to create a promotional campaign to do that.

Haygarth has also put together a trade campaign to encourage opticians to communicate the benefits of contact lenses to teenagers.

The consumer activity, which launches at the beginning of July, encompasses a cinema ticket promotion, whereby customers who collect on-pack codes can apply for free cinema tickets. This will be supported with an outdoor 6-sheet campaign and full POS kits.

The trade activity involves a three stage innovative direct marketing campaign to opticians. Starting with a teaser mailing raising the question of whether contact lenses are right for teenagers; the second DM piece answers this with a ‘See it through their eyes’ film. The film features testimonials from teenagers wearing contact lenses and eye-care practitioners exploring the many benefits of prescribing contact lenses to teen patients.

The third piece of DM focuses on how Ciba Vision is supporting the trade and what is available in terms of POS kits. All of this activity will be underpinned by field sales activity.