Customer Insights: 5 Questions With Pearle Vision CMO Doug Zarkin

Pearle Vision’s passion for delivering genuine eye care began in 1961 with Dr. Stanley Pearle. He founded “Pearle Optical” in a small office in Savannah, Georgia, with five employees and a love of people.

His vision for one-stop optical services was as effective as it was simple: Provide the convenience and expert guidance of an eye care professional right in your neighborhood for complete eye exams and eye care; offer on-site prescription eyeglass fulfillment where possible; also provide the biggest selection of designer frames in town.

Dr. Pearle had his sights set far beyond Savannah, and 56 years later, Pearle Vision is a household name, synonymous with caring for you and your eyes. Back in 1981, Pearle Vision began offering franchises to select doctors and opticians. Today, Pearle Vision has hundreds of eye care centers in the United States and Canada and is owned by Luxottica.

As Carolyn Fields, the Executive Director of New Business Development for Interbrand’s Consumer & Retail Brand Experience Team, asks Pearle Vision Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Doug Zarkin, how does a 56-year-old brand keep innovating and staying relevant to consumers? “It starts with crystalizing the DNA of the brand,” Zarkin explains. “Innovating without purpose is just reckless action. For us, at our heart, we are a brand about people caring for people.”

Zarkin joined Pearle Vision in 2012 and is responsible for global strategic marketing, visual merchandising, product promotion and store design. In 2015, he was recognized with a Silver Effie for marketing excellence in HealthCare Services Marketing for leading the brand revitalization work for Pearle Vision that included a new visual identity, brand positioning and store design.

Before joining Luxottica, he launched and managed the “mark” brand for Avon, an international brand targeted to upscale young women, which achieved $118 million in sales in its first 18 months. He then served as Vice President of Marketing for Victoria’s Secret brand Pink, where he led the brand from a concept to becoming a $400 million+ standalone brand.

Watch Doug and Carolyn’s interview below for more on how Pearle Vision is innovating in customer experience—and more—in a conversation taped at the recent Brandemonium conference in Cincinnati. Below that, find out more about Pearle Vision’s brand revitalization work led by Doug and his team.

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