Have You Been Tested Lately?

Did you know that August is National Eye Exam Month? Neither did I. Or perhaps I should say - neither did eye. (Let's face it, I have always had a strange appreciation for such cliché puns.) But my quirky sense of humor aside, I was completely unaware of this month's special significance to the optometry industry until I paid a visit to my local optometrist. And while sitting in the waiting room performing a quick self-eye exam (I had to ensure that I wouldn't embarrass myself later in front of the doctor by confusing the number 3 with the letter E, of course), I saw a poster that read – August is National 3ye 3xam Month. Wait a minute... That should read – August is National Eye Exam Month. (It's those 3s and Es I tell you.) Well anyway, the poster got me thinking. Why don't I know about this? Aside from sleeping, I use my eyes almost 24/7. And even more to the point, I desire to work in the publishing industry – an industry that sort of revolves around looking at letters on a page. So the only excuse I have for my ignorance of this month's significance is to blame poor marketing.

You see, for the past few weeks I have been studying how to market my cookbook, CELEBRATE: Food for Life's Special Occasions. I'm currently reading about 5 books on the subject and really find it quite fascinating. There are just so many ways to make contact with your readers and encourage them to purchase and read your book.

In the interest of illustrating my point, let's take the marketing of National Eye Exam Month in August and compare it to National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. (Why I know that National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is in October, I don't know. I assure you that I'm a perfectly flat-chested male. But I guess we'll just have to chalk that up to good marketing on the part of the National Breast Cancer Awareness folks.)

Perhaps the most iconic feature of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is the pink bow that people pin to their shirt in honor of the month, as well as in recognition of breast cancer survivors and in remembrance of breast cancer victims. I have worn the pink ribbon before in remembrance of my grandmother, making me one of many who have done so throughout the month of October. In fact, the pink ribbon is so recognizable that you'll see it printed on cereal boxes, posted at health clubs, and stapled to coupons. They're in newspapers, pinned to the shirts of newsmakers, and even stamped on that jar of capers. In short, those iconic little pink bows are everywhere, and that is why so many people know about Breast Cancer Awareness Month and participate in its events.

And what does National Eye Exam Month have? Do they have a ribbon? If there is one, I've never seen it. And there certainly is no mention of it on my morning Cheerios, newspaper, or jar of capers. And that is just poor marketing. I have eyes, and they need to be checked by a trained professional at least once a year. That makes me part of this campaign's target audience, and I should know that this is National Eye Exam Month.

So what I propose we do is create a ribbon. (Borrowing an idea from another is, after all, the finest of marketing tradition). But I suggest we tweak the idea a bit. Instead of a pink ribbon, let's make an invisible ribbon – one that cannot be seen. Then, what we all need to do is make up some buttons to pin to our shirts. On each button we could write something like – Can you see my ribbon? No? Then you need an eye exam. It's simple. It's to the point. And it gets the message out there, that everyone needs an eye exam at least once a year. And in that way, when my cookbook does get published, everyone will be able to read it with a healthy pair of eyes.