Hi, Everyone

About a week a go I posted a thread offering to donate my company's production services tp produce a public service docummercial on the internet about opticianry. For those of you unfamiliar with a docummerical I placed a link so you could see what they look like. The link was to WebcastingTV.com who is known for placing such docummericals on the web. Last year 27million computer owners indicated interest (opted-in) in receiving information about vision care, eyewear, contact lenses and corrective surgery. (Equifax). Awareness of that fact in our industry has been limited. To my knowledge, on a national basis, Lenscrafters may be the only one accessing the database. However, whether or not that is true is not relevant. What is relevant is that there is an audience out there few of us have reached. Opticianry needs to reach out to them.

That creates a perfect opportunity to non-commercially promote opticianry and help raise its visibility as a credible profession and service to the public, something we have done reletively little of. And, my sense is that by not having done so, our efforts in legislatures, etc. have been compromised. The docummercials could be delivered via permission-based streaming video emails as well as be linked on several search quiality engines and about 3400 web portals all associated with an organization sponsored by opticianry. If agreement cannot be made on an existing org, a public relations-only organization needs to be created.

My company's contribution would be valued at about $3500.00 based on its current rate card. Under the best of conditions, if every optician in the USA contributed $1.00 each, and all the known vendors combined invested around $50,000, all 27 million recipients would receive the docummercial, and would receive it in about 4 hours after release, a 50% chance of everyone looking at it on receipt, and a "bunch" would likely be forwarded on to someone else. Do it right and most recipients will see it more than once before deleting it. There is every likelihood that some visitors to your place of business will let you know they saw it. It would be nice if there was a piece of literature available explaining what we do and a little plug for rookies! That's what the folks in the prosthetic industry, brace, limb, and orthopaedic supply have done with excellent results.

About SPAM: All recipients have indicated an interest in those subjects in previous polling. It is permission based only.

A trustworthy finance committee would need to be set up to adminsiter the funds. A content development committee would need to be created under my production manager's guidance. "Meetings" would be conducted using video and conferencing technology. There are traditional methods for developing the "story" which are used in any such project. That will help reduce the risk of a camel being the result of a committee designing a horse! People related to television and media production "akin" to opticianry are welcommed to collaborate.

I'm open for comments / questions as of this posting for about a week, after which a formal proposal /poll will be made if there is support. I sure hope we can make this sort of thing happen, whether I can help or anyone else does. Opticianry needs to pull together and market itself. We're under enough fire as it is.

Thanks.

Alan W

PS. Since this is web based, we are NOT limited to US opticianry. But, some extra planning and support needs to be done for the www. Opticianry is a world class technical profession from London to Tokyo, Times Square to Hollywood and Vine.