Our audience is US eye care proessionals – both optometrists (ODs) and ophthalmologists (MDs). Eye doctors treat Dry Eye Disease practically every day. But for over 14 years, they hadn’t seen any innovation in the category.

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The eyelove campaign is all about appreciating the beautiful things our eyes let us enjoy, and encouraging doctors and patients to chat about the interruptions caused by Dry Eye Disease.

Our lifestyle approach to the condition changed the conversation about Dry Eye Disease. Suddenly, it wasn’t just about itchy, gritty eyes. It was about helping patients enjoy the things they love to do. That’s eyelove.

The Dry Eye Disease category needed some love. And when doctors got it, we knew they’d share it with their patients.

With a tone that was as friendly as it was unexpected, this was a professional campaign that didn’t feel like one. As a newcomer into the eye care space, Shire made an immediate impact and announced to the entire eye care industry that new thinking and new energy had arrived.

On the day the eyelove campaign launched, eye doctors got an email featuring our celebrity spokesperson, Jennifer Aniston. Print ads featuring Jen soon followed in optometry and ophthalmology journals — putting a friendly face to Dry Eye. Additional print ads proclaimed “eyelove happy patients” — a signal to doctors that Shire understood their frustration with the lack of innovation in the category.

Within weeks, Shire representatives delivered a beautiful in-office kits with discussion guides, posters and a customized “eyelove” magazine for patients to enjoy while waiting. Now, addressing Dry Eye with patients was more clear, and more fulfilling for everyone.

As a result of the professional campaign – and it’s companion consumer campaign – eye care professionals saw a surge in patients wanting to show their eyes some eyelove. Patients asked doctors for “the Jennifer Aniston medication.” Awareness of Shire among optometrists and ophthalmologists soared. And so did the number of prescriptions written for Dry Eye treatments. But the end of 2016, prescriptions were up a whopping 43% for Dry Eye patients. That’s some serious eyelove.

The eyelove campaign is the result of a single insight: dry eyes interrupt the things we love to do. Every element of this campaign was delivered with one voice, whether it was intended for eye care professionals or their patients.

Even though 30 million Americans live with the symptoms of Dry Eye, there hadn’t been any innovation or fresh thinking in the category for over a decade. Shire took the opportunity to spark new interest in the category by rallying eye doctors and patients around the biggest emotion of all: love.

Our strategy was to announce to eye care professionals — and the eye care category in general — that Shire was bringing new thinking and new attention to Dry Eye Disease. After years of complacency, Shire was going to show Dry Eye some love. Some eyelove.

Over 30 million Americans live with the symptoms of Dry Eye Disease — dry, gritty eyes and occasional blurry vision. Despite the prevalence, there hadn’t been any new research or thinking in the category for years. Many patients chalk their symptoms up to aging. But modern factors like staring at a computer screen or smart phone, and binge-watching TV also contribute to Dry Eye, with no new solutions available.

After years of complacency, Dry Eye suffered from a lack of understanding and action. We had to reignite this category and raise the expectations for treating Dry Eye for eye doctors and their patients.