Keeping Should've Fresh

Client: Specsavers

For over 20 years, Specsavers’ iconic “Should’ve Gone to Specsavers” campaign has driven market leadership through a media strategy focused on enduring fame and quick cultural reactions. However, by 2022, shifting channel habits, pandemic disruptions, and a rising group of brand rejectors threatened growth. The traditional media approach needed reinvention.

Our new strategy introduced two guiding principles: revitalizing the campaign’s fame through “Fast Fame” high-impact, mass-reach launches across an expanded AV ecosystem- and reappraising the brand by telling new stories to win over rejectors. Insights revealed rejectors’ distrust and limited awareness of Specsavers’ caring services, such as At Home eye tests and local ownership.

We relaunched “Should’ve 2.0” with broad, multi-channel activations including digital, OOH, cinema, social, and innovative stunts creating constant buzz. Simultaneously, we phased in stories showcasing Specsavers’ expertise and care, using trusted media partnerships like Countdown and Emmerdale to reach skeptical audiences with warmth and humor.

Our results demonstrate strong growth: record-high ad recall, 39% rise in brand attention, a 10-20pp boost in awareness of audiology and home visits, and a 10pp drop in rejectors. Business outcomes include a 12% increase in attended appointments and a 29% media-driven uplift in eye tests.