Specsavers has temporarily rebranded itself to the decidedly less well-known ‘Specsandhearingsavers’, to help raise awareness of its audiology services.
With the Specsavers’ name clearly more associated with eye care, the company has launched its new name for a six week campaign to try and change that.
The move includes new signage at the Guernsey support office in La Villiaze alongside widespread advertising across the UK.
“While this campaign is another fun activation from Specsavers, it also plays back to a deeper manifestation of our brand purpose – changing lives through better sight and hearing,” said Guernsey-based Specsavers creatives Simon Bourgourd and Neil Brush.
“With 40% of the UK adult population now admitting having an issue with hearing, as the world becomes louder, we want to ensure that everyone knows where to go for expertise in hearing.”
Audiologist Julie Chammings is one of four shareholding partners at Specsavers Market Street, which offers free hearing tests and dispenses a range of digital hearing aids among its other audiology services.
“In the typical Specsavers style, we’re poking fun at the fact that, although our expertise lies in hearing as well as eyecare, and has done for the past 20 years, this isn’t reflected through our original name.”
Optometrist Matt Thoume, who became a partner of the Guernsey store earlier this year, added: “While this rebranding does make this clear, there is no hiding the fact that it’s a mouthful, so we’re playing up the fact that the original name may well be a whole lot catchier.”
Specsavers Market Street was the first Specsavers to open in 1984.
It has offered the hearing services since 2009, after the Guernsey-founded international healthcare brand launching audiology services in the UK in 2002.