EDIT NOTE
SHOW ME
OK. I’ll admit to being spoiled. As a long-time reporter on
watches I get unusual access to private events and watch related
launches that few in the general public ever get to attend. This inner
circle is typically populated by the usual suspects; editors, bloggers, retailers, and occasionally a few watch “whales” (high-level
collectors) that travel from all corners of the globe to be among the
first to see a new watch, collection, or gain access to one or another
high-profile individual that has partnered with a given brand.
Post event coverage spreads across the web and print media
and is digested second hand by whatever audience happens to follow
a given publication or contributor on the platform(s) of their choice.
As much as the cadre of “journalists” does their very best
to report or opine on a given launch or event, the simple fact
remains it’s always better and more impactful to experience these
events firsthand. You wouldn’t want to buy a car based solely on
someone else’s experience behind the wheel and pretty pictures
of the car on a racetrack in the south of France, any more than
you’d buy a new home only from pictures online. Watches are the
same. What might look great in-print or on the screen, may have a
completely different impact when wrapped around your wrist and
experienced in person.
I for one appreciate the access my unusual position has allowed, but to be honest, I’d rather share the space with curious
consumers and build interest from the ground up. Collectors and
consumers at all levels are the real end-game of the wristwatch
industry, so the question remains, why do so many events eschew
this grass roots appreciation of their products and access to their
events? I’ve heard too many times from domestic and overseas
shows that security is an issue. I’m calling BS on that one. If the
most amazing and world-leading event like the Baselworld fair can
find a way to make it work – so can everyone else. I’ve also heard
the excuse (paraphrasing) “our event is far too exclusive to allow
the public access.” Really? So the same clients you want to buy
into your brand and invest five or six figures on one wristwatch are
not worth finding a way to entertain for a day?
4
WRISTWATCH | 2016
Thankfully a few smaller entities are starting to gain traction
here in the USA. Our German-owned competitor in watch publishing hosts a series of events promoting watches to the public, and
local collector-driven clubs like Red-Bar and Worn & Wound are
also seeing growth for their own events. Recently another edition of
the TimeCrafters event hosted eighteen brands at the Park Avenue
Armory, and another public-invited event has launched in parallel
with the Las Vegas Industry events.
Although these events represent a good start, to some extent
they are preaching to the choir, rather than increasing the flock.
There is a certain marketing value and money to be made behind
keeping the flames of desire stoked among the cognoscenti, but cultivating new admirers and fans will pay dividends in the long run.
Can you imagine presenting the opportunity to the general public
to walk the halls of the JCK show – or god forbid, the exclusive
ballrooms at the Wynn for the Couture show? Based on their locations alone, curiosity would drive the non watch-centric public to
investigate. And who knows? Maybe, just maybe we’d have planted
the seed of interest among new potential consumers.
At the very least there would be fewer exhibitors wondering
where everyone was on a quiescent Sunday afternoon at the shows.
Keep Watching,
Gary George Girdvainis