In mid-2021, the eye care sector was in search of a rebound. Optometrists were fixated on revenue swings and instability from lingering pandemic issues. The Contact Lens Institute (CLI)—the U.S. industry association representing manufacturers—wanted to jumpstart contact lens prescribing. The group needed to break through downtrodden narratives to excite doctors and staff, replacing uncertainty with energy.
 
Working with McDougall Communications, See Tomorrow was born—a multi-year, data-driven initiative focused on discovering opportunities afforded by societal change. Instead of suffering from shifting patient mindsets, eye care practices armed themselves with new information and insights, and began capitalizing on them.

​Click here to view the CLI See Tomorrow report series.
 
The agency led large-scale U.S. consumer research projects that resulted in voluminous information about consumer attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Yet the raw data was limited in its power to inspire change, which is why McDougall transformed the returns into digestible reports designed for optometrists, opticians, and other staff members, paired with vehicles including infographics, short video vignettes, industry conference panel discussions, and widespread industry media attention.
 
In just 18 months, following three report cycles, the results are clear. More than 9 in 10 optometrists rated the See Tomorrow insights as valuable across all three program waves (94-98%), and more than 8 in 10 optometrists exposed to See Tomorrow said they would alter how they engage patients (83-94%). In late 2022, 70% of U.S. eye care professionals said they believed their contact lens practices would grow in 2023 (vs. 56% and 44% in the two prior year surveys, which were independently conducted by a major industry publisher). And although we should not tie performance solely to See Tomorrow, market revenue growth rates from 2020 through 2022 were almost 2X higher than similar rates in the two years preceding the pandemic (+4.6% avg versus +2.4% avg, respectively).