Marius, you clearly didn't have stacks of National Geographic to read when growing up. They were full of Rolex ads, and I'm sure many members here first dreamed of a Rolex from seeing those. I know I did.
Guys
Please do not take this thread as a joke or as an insult but please help me and enlight me.
Keep hearing about how great and unique is Rolex's marketing but for some reasons I was never touched by that magic and I cannot think of a clip or a place or a picture that can bring the Rolex name in my head....like so many others brands can....
And believe me, I do love a great marketing/commercial /clip
Please add links or pictures or whatever you think that can be useful to show me " the Rolex light "
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Marius, you clearly didn't have stacks of National Geographic to read when growing up. They were full of Rolex ads, and I'm sure many members here first dreamed of a Rolex from seeing those. I know I did.
Time magazine also.
My childhood memories.
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I suppose if one could point to a particular advert, we’d be discussing a brand that’s on a par with Smash.
Simple answer;
You know exactly what a Rolex is and does but you don't recall them ever telling you.
A lot of sports events Golf, tennis F1.
James Bond.
This are what jump out to me.
The Singapore GP - projecting the Daytona onto the Eye of Singapore (big wheel) showing the local time..
A couple of features on this:
https://www.fratellowatches.com/11-r...from-the-past/
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/a-...-rolex-wearers
Nothing "magic" about it. Usually they either try to make out they are something to do with sports ( they really are not except paying for marketing space and that kind of thing ) or they try to make out that if you wear Rolex you are somehow an adventurer or sophisticated or get attractive young ladies to sleep with you ( all of those are fantasy lol ) its just a watch, all it does is make people say, oh is that a Rolex you got on mate
It's F1 and Wimbledon for me, but their content on social media is nothing short of genius IMO
They don't just post crap (well, they do just post photos sometimes) but they post informative, engaging content a lot of the time.
For me, best marketing machine on the planet. Watches are pretty good too though.
A fine balance of ubiquity with aspiration.
almost do not need to advertise anymore. It is probably a good idea to still do Golf and Tennis though.
Really
This is a thing that has been done by so many others....
I was thinking maybe someone can point me that SPECIAL thing that makes Rolex marketing ...so special
Thank you guys
A lot of helpful answers
Keep them coming and PLEASE STAY SAFE
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Last edited by marius; 25th March 2020 at 10:55.
I think over the years, decades, they've managed to deeply infiltrate peoples conciousness, and widely at that, a Rolex is now 'the watch' against which all others are measured, not arguing it is necessarily so in fact but that is the ubiquitous perception among 'most' people, not talking watch afficianados as such who after all represent a sub market. This level of brand/ perception dominance combined with their ability to mass produce good, conservative, very reliable and robust, classic, timeless looking watches maintains their status as objects of desirability.
They've consistently sought to associate themselves with winners, leaders and success over time which has a halo effect for the brand itself and thus the watches became shorthand or an avatar of 'success' for the masses, if that makes sense.
No comment on the verisimilitude of some of their marketing.
Last edited by Passenger; 25th March 2020 at 10:39.
Foe me I always think of the advertising at Wimbledon and the F1. No fancy or clever TV ad just their name constantly on TV while watching sports I enjoy.
My dad collected a few watches and Rolex was one of the brands along with Omega; I used to love helping him as a child wind his manual watches. It was something I aspired to own as a child. Also the influence was around me in family members films I watched and when we travelled going with my dad to the AD's to buy watches.
It like Apple Macs, I got my first one after watching the light up iconic logo on the back for years in films with out even clicking. Not changed over 20 years no I have now owned Macs.
I guess I am just a sucker for brand loyalty and advertising.
Their genius is that they have always just been there.
The green, with the gold coronet, and the same font.
Always the same, just there at the event. Wimbledon, golf, yachting, and now F1.
Never doing a "Re-brand", or changing the tone.
At the same time I certainly recall all of the "pen-portrait" adverts in Nat Geo and elesewhere. Always describing an exceptional professional and his watch. Not necessarily someone showy, but someone considered and competent. Someone known for what they do, rather than a "celebrity" known for who they are.
Never hyped, never overstated, just the constant reinforcement that Rolex is the benchmark.
Drip, drip drip.
So that we all now believe it.
I holidayed in Switzerland last Summer. I was impressed by the Explorer advert on the summit of Mount Fort. I can't find my own photos, but these ones are probably better than mine anyway. Shot is from here: https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=406249
The marketing is considered aspirational. The association with adventure, achievement and lifestyle provides for a form of validation. If you achieve owning a Rolex you feel you’ve made it.
In my job (financial crime) I had to understand the role of the brand and this was a very useful resource:
https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-m...757-rolex.html
Rolex is big with the ladies too because it knows that ladies are much tougher on their watches than men... and there are a number of occasions where new technologies were first tried on ladie's models before being incorporated to the rest of the lines.
A Rolex advert in the Reader's Digest in the late 1970s featuring Reinhold Messner got me interested, and I bought my first in 1979.
F.T.F.A.
So as we can all see they are masters of the message. Very often almost subliminal. Always aspirational in is attachement.
Their product placement is also brilliant, they rarely have to do more than gift a watch to a personality to ensure it is worn. If not then offering the watch as the prize seems to work well.
This is a fun read if you've got 5 minutes - and I know you have.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/ta...ona-for-a-fake
Watching Live & Let Die as a kid. Having said that, Goldeneye was instrumental in my decision to buy a 2254 - I didn't like the blue Seamaster.
Wimbledon and F1 for me. Especially when the winner at Wimbledon puts the watch on their wrist before being presented with the trophy.
Wear a Rolex and you won't get the virus.