Pride in Our Work
SUNGLASSES WORKSHOP AND AWARDS
The Challenge
Drive total sunglasses category growth in the travel retail channel through collaboration between leading sunglasses brands
The Story
Over a decade ago, the Sunglasses Workshop and Awards was created with the aim of bringing together the industry’s leading travel retailers and eyewear suppliers to show that by implementing a partnership-driven approach, major strides could be made. To this day, that vision remains true.
The Sunglasses Workshop and Awards was inaugurated in 2009 and has since grown to become one of the ‘must attend’ events for retailers during the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes.
The event was initially created as a workshop, with a focus on sharing ideas and uncovering new insights. It has since grown to incorporate an Awards component, with the Awards recognising the efforts of retailers and their contribution to sunglasses category growth in the travel retail channel.
Key tactics employed to engage, excite and recruit travel retailers and specialist media to the event:
Engagement with Experts – Workshop Credibility
- For the event, we partner with leading travel retail publication, The Moodie Davitt Report, who support through expert commentary, panel moderation and insights, bringing a level of prestige and professionalism to the event that is invaluable.
- We also partner with data experts, Generation Research, who supply key data insights for the sunglasses category. To take it a step further, in 2019, the sunglasses suppliers committed to the creation of a Sunglasses Data Panel – a unique collaboration to capture the most accurate and up to date data.
- The Workshop has also welcomed expert panels and keynote speakers throughout the years. For example, in 2019, the attendees heard from global luxury expert, Luca Solca, who shared his views on the luxury industry – a key growth driver of the sunglasses category. The 2019 Workshop also welcomed senior retailers from MSC Cruises, China Duty Free Group and Gebr. Heinemann to a panel discussion.
PR and Marketing: Driving Footfall to the Event
- Before, during and after the workshop, FILTR develops and executes a communications plan to help communicate the message of collaboration, growth and insight for the Sunglasses Workshop and Awards.
- As part of the communications program, FILTR also communicates directly with retailers, landlords and media to recruit them to the event.
Awards Ceremony
- A key draw of the event is the annual Awards ceremony, which recognises gold-standard marketing and launches in the channel, provides excitement and highlights the strong partnerships between suppliers and retailers in driving category growth
- To keep the awards fresh, a new category was introduced – the Partnership Award – which rewards the efforts that retailers have undertaken to elevate the sunglasses category
Project Management
- Working closely with the eight sunglasses suppliers, Filtr coordinates the event – including management of the Awards Ceremony, which covers consolidating retailer entries, overseeing the judging process by the eight suppliers and producing the trophies
The Results
The proof is in the pudding for this one. After 10+ years of collaborating on the event, it continues to grow and flourish. The number of attendees has grown (e.g. 190 attendees in 2019 vs 170 in 2018), the amount of media coverage is significant (AVE of approx. €200,000 in 2019), awards entries grow yearly (60+ submissions) and there is interest from other sunglasses suppliers to collaborate on the event.