Monday 17 October 2011

How Luxury Watch Brands are Innovating Digitally


Tamar Koifman of Fashion’s Collective, explores the ways haute horlogerie brands are leveraging new media to tell their stories

“Luxury watch marketing” and “digital innovation” rarely shows up in the same sentence, let alone together in an article headline, but contrary to what the industry might think, there are some haute horlogerie brands paving the way online.

As a recent transplant to Geneva, Switzerland, home of the most prestigious watch brands, I’ve had an opportunity to become intimately acquainted with the business of high-end watches, an industry that I admit I previously knew very little about. In Geneva, it’s hard not to know someone who works in the watchmaking industry, and as a strategist at Digital Luxury Group, I’ve had the chance to take that knowledge even further, working with a number of well-known watchmakers.

When the topic of luxury watch websites comes up, there is one brand that is consistently referenced as a benchmark within the industry. IWC, headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and owned by luxury conglomerate Richemont, has a stellar website. Big, beautiful images, detailed product descriptions, and captivating lifestyle content, set this site apart from the rest. It was one of the first watch brands to incorporate commenting and social media plugins, and though it’s not e-commerce enabled, IWC has set the bar high for competing brands.

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