Halogen Network

The luxury watch industry has been staunch in its defense of their retail channels and its marketing efforts in the past five years have reflected that. Big media spending in magazines like Robb Report, Trader Monthly and others, and very tentative -if any – efforts to sell online. The strategy has made sense, particularly in the context of supporting retailers like Tourneau, that probably drive significant sales volume for the brands, and would not want to see the brands really develop their “direct-to-consumer” efforts.

But I think that the watch industry will need to adapt to the current economic environment and changing consumption philosophies. My sense is that the VERY high-end of the watch business has been holding up OK ( watches that cost $50,000 and up), as the brands know who those buyers are, and can reach them via select retailers, in-person events and direct contact. But the mid and aspirational segments of the luxury watch market are probably very soft – and I think the brands will have to adjust their marketing efforts to find and engage this consumer over the next five years.

The Watch Avenue, an independent watch site that appears supported by some of the brands, and is often advertised on NYTimes.com, is a step in this direction. The intent is clearly to educate consumers in a very engaging setting (video – but can be slow), and to mimic a retail experience (as the name implies, the website presents that brands as stores on a high-end street). It’s a good start, but brands like Tag, Longines, Piaget will need to do more

In particular, I think the luxury watch brands need to extend their communication efforts:

-to web audiences are have the financial ability to buy, but need to be inspired and educated. These consumers are no longer spending as much time on wsj.com or nytimes.com, so need to be reached via lots of other, smaller web publishers.

-to the corners of the web where their products and brands are being evaluated, reviewed and commented on. Its no longer possible to control the conversation about your brand – in fact, you probably don’t want to – since websites and stories like this one, can actually help consumers.

And there is more they can do to develop these direct-to-consume relationships, via the web. Hopefully we get a chance to work with one or two brands that want to reach their prospective consumers in new, more efficient ways.

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