An Italian eyewear house, into North America
A third-generation family eyewear maker with European wholesale strength, entering North America against far larger licensed competitors.
CategoryFashion
RouteMilan to New York
Engagement14 months
The problem
The brand's instinct was a national launch supported by broad awareness media. At their volume, that would have spent the entire market budget on reaching people who had no way to buy. The real constraint was that independent optical retailers, the natural channel, buy on relationships and trade shows rather than advertising.
What we did
- Recommended a regional entry across two metropolitan areas instead of a national launch, which reduced first-year media requirement by roughly two thirds
- Rebuilt the trade story around manufacturing provenance, which the founder had considered too obvious to lead with
- Concentrated spend on trade-facing press and two industry shows rather than consumer awareness
- Used paid social purely as a proof instrument for retailers, geo-fenced to the trade areas
- Held the national conversation until the regional sell-through data existed to support it
Where it landed
2
metro regions instead of a national launch
2
trade shows carrying the entry
14
months to inbound national interest
- Independent optical doors opened across both target regions in year one
- Two national accounts approached the brand inbound after the second trade show
- National rollout deferred by choice, with a data case behind the decision
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