As I scrolled through LinkedIn on Monday morning, I saw a particular image repeatedly appear on my feed, often accompanied by the sentence, “I'm not making this up.”
Scots were stunned to see a Specsavers-branded van with its butt in the air on bollards on Castle Street in Edinburgh on Saturday night. Next to it is a perfectly placed red sign warning 'Caution'. Automatic bollards in operation. No Parking'.
Confused and amused passersby filmed the whole thing on their jittery cellphones. “Brilliant,” he said with a laugh in a thick Scottish accent. Shuid hae gaen tae furken' Specsavers.”At the World Bollard Association Posted He congratulated the company, calling the event “amazing,” and the image had been viewed more than 460,000 times at the time of writing.
But here too there are things to consider. Viewing this moment in isolation does a disservice to the work that has gone into brands since the term was coined in 2002. please think about it. It's quite a feat for our eyes to capture a scene and automatically jump to the slogan without any mental gymnastics. This is a branding that has worked tirelessly to embed itself in the public psyche.
A Metro article about the incident was headlined, “You don't need to tell this driver where to go.” After all, you don't even need to say this phrase anymore to connect the dots.
I spoke to Victoria Clark, Director of Marketing Services at Specsavers, to find out the answers to the questions on everyone's lips. “Happy coincidence or marketing mastery?”
Here's what she had to say:
LBB> The first thing you need to know is, is this something made up or is it a coincidence?
VICTORIA> We can confirm that the driver of the alleged van accident was not unwell. This is in addition to our latest 'Should have gone to Specsavers' (SGTS) campaign which has been running since February.
LBB> Let's talk about the origins – when and how did this idea come about? How long did it take from conception to realization?
Victoria> For all SGTS campaigns, Specsavers Marketing works closely with our in-house creative team, Specsavers Creative, and our media, social media and PR agencies (Manning Gottlieb, Tangerine, Golin) with a focus on delivering integrated campaigns. I am putting
In response to this specific brief, Specsavers Creative devised several out-of-home (OOH) ideas and worked with Grand Visual to refine the execution. The team proposed a specific bollard approach in January 2024. This is a work he has been in progress since early February and has been operational since the night of March 23, 2024.
LBB> When and where were the stunts performed? Was there any particular reason behind these decisions?
Victoria> Having placed several specially built OOH sites in London and Leeds in our last SGTS campaign in 2022, we wanted to ensure we shared the casual fun across the country. Scotland and another northern UK location (consistent with local council approvals) were therefore a priority for this campaign. The first location was on Castle Street in Edinburgh. Construction began at midnight on Saturday the 23rd (the team began to show public interest almost immediately!) and remained in place on Castle Street until the evening of Monday 25th March.
The second location is Peters Lane, Liverpool, within the Liverpool ONE shopping complex. The build will take place late at night on his Tuesday, March 26th, and will continue until the evening of Saturday, March 30th.
Working with Grand Visual, the team secured a small van and created a bollard based on an actual automated bollard. To support the humor and make the stunts as interactive and realistic as possible, we've added unique warning signs and special “should have” parking tickets, as well as Specsaver's for interior props. We supported them with clothing and goods. I'm very happy with the final result and how each element works together.
LBB> This is OOH marketing done right. People are having conversations and most of it is happening organically. Did you do anything strategic to ensure those sparks flew? Were you surprised at all by the response?
Victoria> We're in the fortunate position that the catchphrase “should have gone to Specsavers” has become part of cultural mores, and given that the public doesn't miss a trick…we think they're We were hoping that people would understand the irony of this accident and would like to share what they witnessed.
we are surprised and delighted [by] How quickly the pickup appeared on social channels and in media stories, even though the van was in the final stages of being placed on Saturday night. It was great to see people taking pictures, telling drivers they needed an eye test, and wondering how they could have missed the big red warning sign.
LBB> What lessons are you learning from this project?
Victoria> At Specsavers, we always strive to make things better with any activation we run, and when it comes to our SGTS campaign, we're looking at how we can go bigger and better. As a team, we continually develop ideas together. We never want to be insensitive, so such ideas are always very carefully considered and planned. All activations work best when the role of the specsaver is clear and there is a clear link to the vision or hearing test.
LBB> A notable post on social was actually from the World Bollard Association on X. Did this have anything to do with it?
Victoria> This was purely organic. A happy coincidence. We are very pleased that this van has been picked up by the World Bollard Association. We will be following all the latest news from Bollard.
LBB> Is there anything about your project that our readers might be surprised to know?
Victoria> As of yesterday morning, we had over 150 million media impressions.
LBB> Tell us about the challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
Victoria> We had to consider parliamentary regulations and unfortunately it meant we lost our base in Wales, which we were keen to take part in this campaign.
Some early concepts were also dropped from consideration due to limitations in what could be installed, but we took this as a positive. [opportunity] to generate new and alternative ideas, and [it] The result was an execution that we're all excited about.
The entire process was smooth thanks to the support of Grand Visual who managed key logistics such as the location, van and bollard construction.
LBB> What is your main advice for marketers who want to make OOH a success?
Victoria> Make your choices and do what will have the greatest impact on achieving your goals.
LBB> Do you have any plans for your next stunt?
Victoria > What stunt?
LBB> Who played what role in OOH? Do you have any special thanks?
Victoria＞Yes. Grand Visual (Talon) – Special mention to Lauren Kilgannon, Georgia Hamp, Georgia Harrison, and Nazari Men.
Specsavers Marketing – Special mention to Lauren Heidi Ellis, Media Strategist, Simone Roberts, Senior Marketing Activation Manager, Anna Alder, Marketing Strategist, and Nicola Gibbons, PR and Social Manager.
Specsavers Creative – Special Mention: Katie Digweed, Creative Business Partner, Felicity Pelly, Lead Creative Business Partner, Matt Thomas, Senior Integrated Producer, Rachel Brehaut, Studio Manager, Abbie Greening, Integrated Production Artist, Martyn Brown, Integrated Production Artist, Richard James, Creative Director, Pollyanna Evereg, Senior Creative Strategist.
Manning Gottlieb – Special mention to Ashley Edwards.
Huge thanks to the whole team at Grand Visual for making this possible and working closely with the Specsavers marketing and creative teams to bring this moment of lighthearted fun to people in Edinburgh, Liverpool and the rest of the world. I would like to express my gratitude.
