Member Article

Vision Van earns national acclaim for record glaucoma awareness campaign

Vision Express and charity partner the International Glaucoma Association win at this year’s Corporate Engagement Awards

A record-breaking tour in its Vision Van, raising awareness of glaucoma – the biggest cause of preventable sight loss in the UK – has earned Vision Express a top accolade at this year’s national Corporate Engagement Awards. The awards ceremony, held at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden on Tuesday 26 June, and hosted by television presenter and writer Konnie Huq, saw the national optical retailer take home the gold award for ‘Best alignment of brand values during a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme’ in recognition of its Vision Van initiative. During World Glaucoma Week 2017, Vision Express toured the country in its Vision Van, offering free eye tests to the public and teaming up with charity partner, the International Glaucoma Association to put the spotlight on glaucoma, known as ‘the silent thief of sight’. In the week following the tour, the national optical retailer recorded a record number of online bookings, demonstrating a real need for the campaign. Seeing off competition from industry giants Simplyhealth and Dove, Vision Express’ Vision Van tour earned high praise at the awards evening and was described as a “simple and effective campaign between two well aligned organisations who share similar objectives” by one judge. This latest win follows a string of successes for the World Glaucoma Week 2017 tour, which has also earned Vision Express acclaim at the national CIM Marketing Excellence Awards, the regional 2017 CIPR Midlands PRide awards and the 2017 Marketing and PR Brilliance Awards. Jonathan Lawson, CEO of Vision Express, said: “It’s fantastic for the team to be recognised for its achievements in CSR at the Corporate Engagement Awards.
“Awareness campaigns such as World Glaucoma Week provide the opportune time to raise the profile of vision-related conditions and the importance of maintaining regular eye tests. The work we do with the Vision Van is absolutely unique and enables us to target eye health hot spots around the country where we know there are specific issues.” In March 2018, Vision Express launched a brand-new Vision Van, which has since journeyed the length and breadth of the UK offering free eye tests to the public. This week, it is on tour for Macular Week (25th June – 1st July), ending with an appearance at Truckfest West Midlands and Wales in Malvern (30th June-1st July), where staff will educate commercial drivers on the potential dangers of driving without roadworthy vision. Jonathan continued: “The launch of our new vehicle allows us to continue to take the eye test on the road, making vision care more accessible and boosting detection rates for sight-stealing conditions, including glaucoma and macular degeneration.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Vision Express .