by Ian Skellern
On a recent trip to Bordeaux to check if they were still making decent plonk (yes, job done), I noticed a small coffee shop near my hotel doing a roaring trade day and night despite being tucked away on a small side street. (I didn’t catch the name, but it was on Rue du Parlement Saint-Pierre, off Place Saint-Pierre).
While I can confirm that the coffee was excellent, I’m sure that the majority of people stopping in for a cup of morning joe were likely to have been passersby like me attracted by the clever, lighthearted messages on the chalkboards outside.
Rain or coffee? You do the math
As with the mini watchmaker photos created by Jon Vincent Watchmakers in the U.K. we recently posted, these messages and the busy coffee shop are proof that clever marketing ideas do not have to be expensive to be effective, especially if they’re humorous. (For more mini watchmakers see Inside Scoop! We Reveal What Big Brands Including Rolex, Omega, IWC And Cartier Don’t Want You To Know About Servicing. You Will Literally Not Believe This Is True!)
Mini watchmakers cleaning a Rolex Submariner (photo courtesy Susan Castillo/Jon Vincent Watchmakers)
This led me to wonder why the watch industry wasn’t doing more to leverage humor and clever ideas in its marking and communication, rather than the constant rollout of drab cookie-cutter press releases than can generally only be distinguished by recognizing the brand name rather than tone or style.
H. Moser & Cie. is perhaps the only high-end watch brand pushing the limits in this respect — the brand’s Swiss parody video is a classic (see H. Moser & Cie. Creates $1 Million Watch Made Of Genuine Swiss Cheese).
And Corum’s recent marketing images definitely have a distinctive edgy vibe that I hope the brand does more with.
Our John Keil singled out a few fun watch adverts from the past, including a cutting-edge IWC campaign, in Watch Advertisements (Should) Invoke A Special Feeling, Here Are A Few That Work For Me. But that’s about it.
Corum Bubble Clown
I can understand that the big traditional brands move slowly (if at all) in their communication, but where are the young contemporary brands creating innovative and fun marketing? Where are the MB&Fs, Urwerks, HYTs, and even Richard Milles in this space?
Has “social media” become a replacement for “effective media”?
Free coffee? Check again
Come on, watch communication and marketing managers: wake up, smell the coffee, and make us smile!
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You have confused marketing with advertising. They’re not the same thing. Look it up.
While you are correct in pointing out that advertising and marketing are not the same thing, advertising is (one type of) marketing and a lot of marketing is advertising. I see nothing incorrect in encouraging marketing managers, who are responsible for advertising budgets among other forms of marketing, to be more creative in both their advertising and general market campaigns.
Do you see advertising and marketing more differently than that?
Regards, Ian
I totally agree with you!!! Unfortunately, this is one of negative sides of ” globalization “. The majority of the watch companies belong to funds and share holders who only care about their shares. Everything is done centrally ( headquarters ) with the various managers not willing to risk their job and chair so they only do what everybody else does. Their marketing depts are miles away from reality and when ( expected) their sales drop they just fire employees to cut costs down end buyback their stock from the AD’s to just keep the prices ultra high!!!!