Lowe Howard-Spink is poised to pick up the pounds 5 million advertising
account of Dollond and Aitchison, one of the UK’s oldest high-street
opticians.
The move will reunite Dollond and Aitchison’s new marketing director,
Alisdair Luxmoore, with the agency. He worked closely with Lowes in his
previous role as the brand communication manager for Vauxhall.
The news comes after a six-week review, in which the incumbent,
Advertising Principles, was invited to make strategic, creative and
media presentations in competition with Lowes, BMP DDB and Barker and
Ralston.
Lowes is now understood to be the frontrunner. However, Lowes’ managing
director, Tim Lindsay, refused to confirm or deny he was in final
discussions about the account, or to comment on reports that a major
advertising campaign was being planned using celebrity endorsement.
Luxmoore, who joined in April, called the review to help Dollond and
Aitchison fight newcomers to the fast-growing sector. Other chains, such
as Vision Express, Boots Opticians and Specsavers all have significant
spends.
Other initiatives on which Luxmoore has embarked since joining Dollond
and Aitchison include a Website developed by Indexfinger, the
interactive specialist run by the former Lowes new-media team, Mark
Dickinson and Rob Hamilton.
Indexfinger developed a site based on EyeSaver, a piece of software
which helps computer users avoid eyestrain. This can now be downloaded
for free from Dollond and Aitchison’s Internet site.
Lowes’ appointment is likely to presage Dollond and Aitchison’s return
to television. It has not launched a major campaign since 1992.
