Sunday, May 3, 2015

Should Tiffany's new classically styled watch be in the same conversation as Apple Watch?

A new TV spot for Tiffany promotes the brand’s classically styled CT60 watch with “A New York Minute.” The spot – 60 seconds, of course – celebrates New York and the brand’s establishment of the “New York Minute” when Charles Tiffany put one of the city’s first mainstay clocks outside the store.
Wrapping up his Adweek / Agency Spy article, Eric Oster asks, "will it be enough to persuade them to purchase the classic design of the CT60 over Apple’s sleek new tech?"

On this topic, I have a question of my own: Are Oster and others asking similar questions around Apple’s launch even momentarily considering market segmentation? Or is he making the knee-jerk assumption that everyone will buy an Apple watch just because it's new, it's from Apple, and it has more functions, so therefore it will surely replace the traditional wristwatch?

It's not much of a stretch to conclude that the classically-styled watch and the 'sleek new tech' watch have completely different buyer profiles. I think those who are aficionados of 'fine timepieces' will view Apple watch as a joke; a gadget for nerds, like those nerdy digital watches from the 80's, and avoid it like the plague. 

Here's another observation. Is it just me, or does the "New York Minute" tag make you think of that dark, brooding Don Henley song? Yes, as in marketing and life itself, in a New York minute, everything can change.

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