Nearly 1000 professionals from North and South America gathered February 3- 6 in Orlando, Florida for the 23rd annual Transitions Academy. During the two-day, invitation-only event – themed “Light Years Ahead” – attendees took part in professional development and product technology workshops; heard from experts and educators on marketing and industry trends; and learned from their peers and partners.
Attendees were welcomed with an exciting performance and opening remarks from Jose Alves, General Manager, Transitions Americas followed by Chrystel Barranger, president, Essilor Photochromics and Transitions Optical who presented how the brand is innovating to bring light management solutions to even more wearers in 2019.
Mark Rea, Ph.D., professor of architecture and cognitive sciences at The Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, made a presentation on the science behind light emphasizing the complexity of the neural processing from the retina to the brain.
New Technologies Announced
Catherine Rauscher, senior global director of business innovation, Transitions Optical and Jacquie Henderson, vice president of marketing, Johnson & Johnson, North America, then took the main stage to share the latest news on ACUVUE® OASYS Contact Lenses with Transitions™ Light Intelligent Technology™.
Luc Nouvelot, director of global R&D, and Elise Bioche, vice president of global marketing presented Transitions® Signature® Gen 8™, which offers a new frontier of performance. The new Gen 8 technology promises improvement in all photochromic features. Transitions told Optik that Gen 8 technology will be coming to Canada in the summer of 2019.
“This year is an important milestone for our company, and we are honored to have both long-standing and new partners share in our celebration of innovation,” said Alves. “The theme ‘Light Years Ahead’ allowed attendees to see how Transitions Optical is leading the photochromic category through technology and product advancements that will extend light management to even more people—whether they are spectacle wearers, contact wearers or motorcycle riders,” said Alves.
2019 Marketing Initiatives
The energy of Transitions Academy continued to build as Tuesday commenced with an overview of Transitions Optical’s 2019 marketing and consumer outreach plans led by Patience Cook, director, North America marketing, Rose Harris, senior associate director, channel marketing strategies and Vanessa Johns, director, Latin America marketing.
Tuesday’s curriculum focused on how eyecare professionals (ECPs) can keep themselves and their businesses Light Years Ahead. Attendees learned how to set goals and map out a plan to get there during Martin Lespérance’s presentation. Then during See the Light: Creating the Why and the How, doctors, opticians and lens sales reps, reviewed the best practices on how to integrate Transitions lenses into the patient journey, and how they can be prescribed to all patients.
Mel Robbins provided the Tuesday keynote presentation—Five Second Rule—all about how ECPs can increase productivity, collaboration and engagement.
Drew Smith, director, North America channels, led the 2018 Transitions Innovation Awards program. The six category winners were as follows: Professional Eyecare Associates of America (PECAA) was named Best in Training; Sheena Taff was named Best in Marketing; Costco Optical was named Canada Retailer of the Year; National Vision Holdings, Inc. was named U.S. Retailer of the Year; Weaver Eye Associates was named Eyecare Practice of the Year; and Amanda Rights, O.D. of Blue Ridge Vision, was named the 2018 Transitions Brand Ambassador.
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