Dive into the Swiss watchmaking’s marketing

In Others by Sébastien FluryLeave a Comment

A sector often forgotten when we talk about startup ecosystem in Switzerland is that we already have kind of a “Silicon Valley” of the watchmaking industry here.

From Geneva to Basel, there are dozen of thousands people who work in this industry and we have some of the most famous brands like Rolex, Omega, Patek Philipp and hundreds of other ones. We have high-skilled people who can
 produce microscopic parts and make watch work. But moreover, we also have rockstar marketing people who have experience on an international level. There Audemars Piguetare a lot of amazing branding and marketing stories that everyone can learn from it. For instance, the most known is Swatch, which revolutionized the concept of the watch itself in early 80’s (that was a total disruption – an affordable watch you can change given your mood or the event you’re attending (professional, private, etc.)). Swatch not only disrupted the watchmaking market in response to Japanese cheap quartz watches, but also pioneered guerrilla marketing (with a huge Swatch on one of the biggest building in Switzerland).
There are a lot of things to learn from the watchmaking industry, as they’re role model in selling dreams and emotions (otherwise, how can they sell watches for hundreds of thousand CHF, that only cost a tenth to produce?).
On 8th November, the 16th edition of “Journée Internationale du Marketing Horloger” is taking place in La Chaux-de-Fonds, with a strong emphasis on experiential marketing strategies. On 7th November afternoon, knowledge and studies on how online tools and social media are changing the way watch marketing works and on experiential marketing will be presented during a shorter session in Neuchâtel.
Aviator watchThese 2 events are not directly related to startup world (first exception on startupolic!) but I’m sure that attending such an event can broaden the vision of startup founders struggling to market their products. Additionally, extend your network to experienced marketing people from the watchmaking industry is maybe a first step to find talented guys who could help you. We have marketing rockstars in Switzerland… Come with me and meet them!