RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—The VSP Global Premier Program announced today it will launch a national consumer advertising campaign, designed to drive patients to Premier Program practices. The company said "the campaign is part of its commitment to support private practice doctors of optometry." Debuting Sept. 30, a mix of television, radio, outdoor and digital advertising will motivate patients to schedule an appointment at a local Premier Program private practice, where they can maximize their benefits and receive a personalized eyecare experience. The tagline in the different creative messages for the campaign reads, "This is what more looks like."

VSP also announced enhancements to the Premier Program to provide doctors more of what they are asking for: improved revenue opportunities, more patients, marketing and exclusive offers, as well as access to the best brands and robust staff training and education. Through a new tiered loyalty framework, the Premier Program offers a competitive advantage to private practice through business-building benefits, increased patient traffic, and greater profitability.

“Doctors have asked for greater choice and flexibility, and we’re excited to expand the Premier Program in response to that feedback and support private practice’s ability to differentiate and compete,” said Michelle Skinner, VSP Global’s chief provider relations officer.

Practices can choose their level of participation from three new distinct tiers. To unlock the benefits, practices must meet tier criteria, including flexible combined purchases within the last 12 months from Marchon Eyewear, Altair Eyewear and VSP Optics. Qualifying practices must also offer consumer conveniences like retinal imaging, exclusive VSP "Member Extra" offers, and free fittings and adjustments. Tiers and key benefits include:

• Silver: Practices can leverage My Marketing Team to increase patient engagement and will have full access to Premier Academy360.
• Gold: In addition to enjoying all Silver benefits, practices will receive the Premier Program banner, enhancing their listing on vsp.com to increase patient traffic, complete with online appointment scheduling and more. They will also enjoy special offers and discounts with Premier Program Partners.
• Platinum: In addition to all Silver and Gold benefits, practices will unlock additional payments and rewards. They will also have access to job posting and recruitment services, as well as enhanced marketing services, including complimentary social media management and much more.

Practices can learn more at: EnhancedPremier.com.

In addition, in response to feedback from doctors, VSP said it will soon launch Premier Academy360 , a new educational platform which will soon be made available to practices participating in the Premier Program. Premier Academy360 will offer comprehensive training and education programs tailored to VSP network doctors and staff. Designed to expand potential practice services, enhance the patient experience, and save doctors time and money on staff development, it will include 24/7 online education, webinars and in-person workshops.

Since the Premier Program’s inception in 2013, VSP Global said that $9.2 billion in revenue has been delivered to participating practices, with over 32 million patient visits—with nearly half of them being new patients. Data shows that practices with the Premier Program banner average two times more clicks on the vsp.com "Find A Doctor" directory than those without. In 2018, VSP sent 1.4 million members direct marketing encouraging them to visit Premier Program locations to maximize their vision benefits and take advantage of special offers, which helped reduce out-of-network claims, the announcement stated.

“In fulfilling our mission of helping people see, we remain committed to connecting VSP members with the core of our network—Premier Program private practices,” added Michael Guyette, president and CEO of VSP Global. “We’re excited by these new investments in the program because they are critical to fulfilling that commitment.”

Additional investments and business-driving initiatives will be announced through the end of 2019, with more to debut at "SHiFT19," the annual Premier Program meeting to be held in late October.