Republik recently achieved a fairly rare feat within Kiwi agency land when it was appointed to run the Asia Pacific business of Rentokil Initial. And it’s nabbed another piece of business (with some more to be announced soon, apparently) after being named as Kiwi-owned optometry group Visique’s new brand agency, beating out Interbrand/DDB Shop and Religion in a pitch and taking over from the incumbent Radiation, which had the business for five years but chose not to pitch.
The nationwide chain, which has over 70 stores across New Zealand, invited six agencies to pitch in order to find an agency that would “approach the Visique brand with passion and proactivity, understand the needs of the business and share their journey and their culture”.
“We believe they will bring fresh eyes and ideas to our brand identity and our marketing campaigns,” says Pete Campbell, general manager at Visique. “The last twelve months have already seen some great steps forward for the Visique brand, introducing a new, more consumer focused tagline ‘Believe your eyes’ and consolidating Visique’s position as the country’s only 100 percent Kiwi-owned nationwide network of optometrists. Our look and feel has been refreshed and we are excited about building upon this work with Republik.”
Of course, the arrival of UK eyewear giant Specsavers into the New Zealand market in 2008 (Visique’s other main competitor OPSM recently launched an international brand campaign) has meant “it is currently a changing marketplace in the world of optometry, and the entry of competition has grown the category’s awareness”. But Campbell says it is still the largest network of optometrists in New Zealand, and the brand will be tapping into the 100% Kiwi-owned factor.
“We are confident about Visique’s position in the marketplace and in the network’s bright future,” he says.
