M Procter Opticians is a busy Harrogate town centre independent practice established in 1988. It is not only our judges’ heads that Procter has been turning; after 19 years owner Mike Procter has developed a reputation for engaging his local community with his practice’s vibrant and impressive seasonally themed window displays.
Practice manager Phil Howlett says: ‘We are a forward thinking and commercially aware company. We understand the power of brand identity and how people might associate their own values with those of a brand.
‘Our window displays are a major part of our marketing and along with our interior design and staff greeting, they form the backbone of our ‘pavement personality’.
Marketing potential
The best way to grasp the concept behind M Procter’s ‘pavement personality’ is to describe the ways the practice has filled its large shop windows.
It helps when one of the world’s largest sporting events happens just outside your front door. Stage 1 of the Tour de France finished in Harrogate, just 200 metres from the practice, in 2014. This prompted Howlett and Procter to ‘start the buzz by painting the window Tour de France yellow. It generated huge interest and the local media, looking to build momentum around the Tour, gave us lots of coverage.’ The practice created a window display for Oakley, a globally recognised brand that has strong associations with the Tour.
The display had so much impact that it was broadcast twice on ITV4 to millions of UK viewers and was seen worldwide.
The window was framed by jerseys hanging around the edges of the window that had been knitted by the local Women’s Institute. Low down on the window were images of cyclists in matching jerseys, and there were two eye catching two sq metre hardback posters with striking Oakley visuals.
The ‘then and now’ poster in the display featured Greg Lemond in 1984 and Mark Cavendish in 2014. The second poster had a lifestyle image of Cadel Evans. Close-up interest was afforded by four small plinths, displaying Oakley cycling sunglasses down the years: 1984 Eyeshade; 1994 M-Frame; 2004 M2; and 2014 Radarlock.
‘Everyone in Harrogate seemed to be talking about us,’ recalls Howlett, ‘we even had passing motorists phoning to congratulate us on our bold statement of support for the event.’
Road closures meant there was no passing traffic on the day of the event and spectators packed the pavements. The practice grabbed the marketing opportunity on offer by bringing the event into the practice – for the benefit of a local charity. Howlett explains: ‘We sold a small number of premium-priced tickets to watch the event from our elevated shop window. Included in the price was a pair of sunglasses plus food and drink all day. Tickets were sold in aid of our local hospice whose marketing support further raised our profile. We extended and re-enforced the window-base to accommodate guests and we raised over £3,000 for the hospice.’
Other notable recent windows at M Procter Opticians have featured a motorbike, an autumn forest scene and a movie set. The smaller shop window also has a large plasma TV-display with bright screens showing a Microsoft Powerpoint loop of the practice’s eye care services.
Planning is critical
Procter’s displays are seasonal and planned up to one year in advance and are changed each month by a professional window dresser. A key element in its success has been synching these displays with its manufacturers’ marketing campaigns. The displays then mirror what the public might also have seen elsewhere on billboards, TV and in printed media.
M Procter’s involvement in community events has secured it a place in the local public’s consciousness and it has become a landmark in the town centre.
Howlett says the effective projection of the practice through dressing is down to thorough planning: ‘We plan all our windows at least three months in advance and order the required props and materials. Displays are changed monthly and factored into our marketing budget.’
The judges felt that the freshness and interactivity of the practice’s look deserved recognition with the award of the optical sector’s equivalent of the yellow jersey.
Window display of the year 2015
Winner: M Procter Opticians
Shortlisted: Goatman & Batham, Bristol; Observatory the Opticians, Muswell Hill, London