Transitions Optical is using the mobile channel to educate Hispanics about eye health issues.

Hispanics will now have the opportunity to receive immediate and relevant information through SMS text messaging on their mobile phones. Users will have the option to subscribe to receive valuable advice and alerts about healthy sight, to help them effectively protect their eyes to see better today and in the future.

"We want to contribute in making Hispanics aware of the importance of proper vision care and this mobile technology is a perfect channel to pair our educational messages on the subject," said Martha Rivera, multicultural marketing manager, Transitions Optical. "By using text messages we can provide immediate and useful tips as well as a call to action that creates and/or increases awareness of the importance of lifelong healthy vision.

"SMS lets us reach our audience with a culturally relevant context throughout a channel that is highly effective in the Hispanic population," she said.

The healthy sight messages will be sent to Hispanics along with text message alerts about Major League Soccer, a sport that captures the interest of the Hispanic population and thus helps Transitions bring its educational message to a captive audience.

Eye health is an issue that impacts the entire Hispanic community.

You only have one pair of eyes, and your eyes must last for a lifetime.

What consumers do today is important in helping them see their best -- everyday in all light conditions -- and in helping to preserve long-term eye health and wellness that is vital to sight.

"Hispanics are a segment that seems to have a high-affinity for mobile technology, surpassing the national average in cell phone usage when compared to using the cell phone just for calls," Ms. Riviera said. "Our messages include a series of functionalities to provide additional information, that are further leveraged thanks to the mobile messaging technology and the stronger inclination that Hispanics have shown."

People who subscribe to Transitions' SMS text messages will receive information about proper eye care and eyewear, such as Transitions lenses, which automatically darken as light conditions change, providing visual comfort and enhancing visual quality.

The SMS text messages will also provide tips to preserve lifelong healthy sight and will include an option, starting in June, to help users locate a nearby eye care professional.

The MLS text message alerts will highlight results from the World Cup qualifying games, results from MLS games, and news about prominent professional soccer players.

"Talking about vision care, [mobile] is perfect to help the audience to create awareness of the need to protect their vision through short, to the point tips, calls to action and some other useful information," Ms. Riviera said. "For example, our text messages are to include information about where to find an eye care professional.

"This is the sort of information that people on-the-go appreciate," she said.