AP - Why all the Marketing Gimmicks ?

[Tony-GB]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Their marketing hasn't done their job on me their watches sure have though! As an owner of many high end watches Patek will always be my favorite. I own AP's, Lange's, Rolex etc. and again for very different reasons. Oh and I also don't own AP for their marketing--perhaps in spite of their marketing.

Exactly- in spite of- not because of!

[HL65]

Originally Posted by Tony-GB

Exactly- in spite of- not because of!

I venture to say none of us who are watch fanatics buy watches because of any marketing departments but purely for the love of the watch itself. That love is derived of the look, finish, quality, and feel among other things.

[TSW]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

x2

[Submarino]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

I venture to say none of us who are watch fanatics buy watches because of any marketing departments but purely for the love of the watch itself. That love is derived of the look, finish, quality, and feel among other things.

X2


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Watches are the new currency!

[SubKing]

Originally Posted by Submarino

Without trying to come across as disrespectful, I clearly see a lack of marketing or branding understanding on your post.

Based on your post, anyone would think that David Ogilvy was trying to be critical of the clock on the RR when he created the ad that says: "At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock." Actually, he was just trying to create a perception around how quiet it is to ride in a RR. That's how branding works and making good use of the brand attributes and brand essence.

I've been involved in advertising and marketing for more than 18 years and your post seems almost comical.

AP's brand essence is grounded on the quality of their timepieces, their exclusivity and the revolutionary approach in watchmaking that the company took by launching the RO in 1972.

When it comes to marketing, as a brand you are supposed to create communication strategies and tactics that capitalize on the brand essence and that generate perceptions among consumers. That's exactly what AP is doing.

LEs do not devalue a brand but generate a following of consumers that prefer that kind of products. If you look at the different ambassadors of AP you'll find that only a few of them happen to be mainstream in the U.S.

Jay-Z, Arnold and Lebron are the only ambassadors that are core U.S. personalities and really not that relevant to the majority of Asian or European AP consumers.

Because of that, AP has also associated their brand to other personalities of the caliber of Belen Mozo, Sachin Tendulkar, Lionel Messi and Schumacher. I really don't see the 'Hollywood' positioning you are referring to. Let's not forget that the global marketing strategy for AP does not revolve around the U.S. only.

People that purchase a Pride of Russia LE or a Pride of Mexico don't do it because of celebrity association from AP but because AP acknowledges consumers from these countries as big AP followers.

Consumers buying a Lionel Messi or a Sachin LE are not necessarily hardcore soccer or cricket fans. Same goes to a Schumi or a RB.

All these LEs and positioning strategy build brand awareness and help position AP as the watchmaking leader they are. Associating their brand to successful ambassadors builds upon the aspirational part of wanting to own one of their watches and the lifestyle that comes with having the disposable income to buy an AP.

Enough said!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Watches are the new currency!

X2

PP marketing is subtle and and lowkey like their watches and personally I'm not attracted to any of their watches unless its a minute repeater..

With AP, you get quality comparable to Patek and vacheron and a style that's great to wear on an everyday basis and doesn't look like it belongs with a suit..

I could care less how AP markets.. I love them because I think they have more balls than Patek or vacheron when it comes to design.

[DK3]

Thank you everyone for responding to my original post. It has become apparent that constructively criticizing a marketing strategy has made people feel as if it was an attack on them. It is not. Everyone has a right to wear and buy whatever watches that make them happy, and EVERY single AP that is a true work of art. AP is a magnificent company. I was just trying to point out that their watches and history is so great that they can stand on their own without celebrity endorsements and I am not sure if their current management understands that.

Secondly I love many of the AP designs but I just cannot get over having an athletes name signed on back of the watch. I would love to buy a watch with the Ceremat bezel, but I don't want to buy a watch that has pride of mexico on it or the name of race care driver. That is my own issue and also expressed by several other people in this forum. Anyways I wish everyone the best and I hope top management at AP realize the many AP enthusiasts feel the same way as I do. At the end of the day AP will be successful because the craftsmanship and the legendary name of the brand will continue to be successful. Despite their success more and more people will start to look at them differently with their new company branding. In closing wear whatever you want and be happy. For those of you that can wear a Jay Z signed watch, you have reached a personal level of comfort and security that I wish to achieve at some point in my life.

[HL65]

Originally Posted by SubKing

X2

PP marketing is subtle and and lowkey like their watches and personally I'm not attracted to any of their watches unless its a minute repeater..

With AP, you get quality comparable to Patek and vacheron and a style that's great to wear on an everyday basis and doesn't look like it belongs with a suit..

I could care less how AP markets.. I love them because I think they have more balls than Patek or vacheron when it comes to design.

Not to start a war but I don't think Vacheron quality is anywhere near Patek or where it used to be. I have owned several and was quite disappointed actually and found them to look and feel cheap. I personally own a handful of Patek and there is just no comparison. I also prefer my AP's as well and consider them higher quality than Vacheron. I know this thread is about marketing but what the heck!

PS you really should look at 3970P's too as they are quite similar to 5004 in looks less the repeater. That is my personal favorite but what do I know.

Again marketing has nothing to do with what I wear or why I buy! I buy what I like and my collection has room for variety of brands and for different reasons and purposes!

Weekend watch:


Work watch:

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by DK3

Thank you everyone for responding to my original post. It has become apparent that constructively criticizing a marketing strategy has made people feel as if it was an attack on them. It is not. Everyone has a right to wear and buy whatever watches that make them happy, and EVERY single AP that is a true work of art. AP is a magnificent company. I was just trying to point out that their watches and history is so great that they can stand on their own without celebrity endorsements and I am not sure if their current management understands that.

Secondly I love many of the AP designs but I just cannot get over having an athletes name signed on back of the watch. I would love to buy a watch with the Ceremat bezel, but I don't want to buy a watch that has pride of mexico on it or the name of race care driver. That is my own issue and also expressed by several other people in this forum. Anyways I wish everyone the best and I hope top management at AP realize the many AP enthusiasts feel the same way as I do. At the end of the day AP will be successful because the craftsmanship and the legendary name of the brand will continue to be successful. Despite their success more and more people will start to look at them differently with their new company branding. In closing wear whatever you want and be happy. For those of you that can wear a Jay Z signed watch, you have reached a personal level of comfort and security that I wish to achieve at some point in my life.

Well maybe AP's direction will change with François at the helm now.

[SubKing]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Not to start a war but I don't think Vacheron quality is anywhere near Patek or where it used to be. I have owned several and was quite disappointed actually and found them to look and feel cheap. I personally own a handful of Patek and there is just no comparison. I also prefer my AP's as well and consider them higher quality than Vacheron. I know this thread is about marketing but what the heck!

PS you really should look at 3970P's too as they are quite similar to 5004 in looks less the repeater. That is my personal favorite but what do I know.

Again marketing has nothing to do with what I wear or why I buy! I buy what I like and my collection has room for variety of brands and for different reasons and purposes!

Weekend watch:


Work watch:

What I meant by the repeater comment is I would love to own a PP repeater not for the way it looks but for its function. They are amazing. Most repeaters are ESP ones by patek.

I have a lot of respect for vacheron as well. My very close friend owns a shop and is a vacheron dealer, I see majority of his stock when it comes in so have handled several of them. I don't think they look or feel cheap except for their bracelets which I do think feels a bit light. Also their chocolates are to die for

[Submarino]

Wish I could own a Pride of Mexico as I was proudly born there and raised between Mexico City and NYC. Now that I am a naturalized American, I will never deny where I originally come from.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Watches are the new currency!

[HL65]

Originally Posted by SubKing

What I meant by the repeater comment is I would love to own a PP repeater not for the way it looks but for its function. They are amazing. Most repeaters are ESP ones by patek.

I have a lot of respect for vacheron as well. My very close friend owns a shop and is a vacheron dealer, I see majority of his stock when it comes in so have handled several of them. I don't think they look or feel cheap except for their bracelets which I do think feels a bit light. Also their chocolates are to die for

Again not to disrespect Vacheron but when you flip them over and look at the movements to me they look cheap and they feel cheap compared to a Patek or Lange Sohne. That is my experience owning them and again quite disappointed and moved out of them after a short bit.

Again never bought a watch because of marketing and there are different brands for all kinds of different buyers!! So......Buy what you like and more important what you can afford!

[SubKing]

Originally Posted by DK3

Thank you everyone for responding to my original post. It has become apparent that constructively criticizing a marketing strategy has made people feel as if it was an attack on them. It is not. Everyone has a right to wear and buy whatever watches that make them happy, and EVERY single AP that is a true work of art. AP is a magnificent company. I was just trying to point out that their watches and history is so great that they can stand on their own without celebrity endorsements and I am not sure if their current management understands that.

Secondly I love many of the AP designs but I just cannot get over having an athletes name signed on back of the watch. I would love to buy a watch with the Ceremat bezel, but I don't want to buy a watch that has pride of mexico on it or the name of race care driver. That is my own issue and also expressed by several other people in this forum. Anyways I wish everyone the best and I hope top management at AP realize the many AP enthusiasts feel the same way as I do. At the end of the day AP will be successful because the craftsmanship and the legendary name of the brand will continue to be successful. Despite their success more and more people will start to look at them differently with their new company branding. In closing wear whatever you want and be happy. For those of you that can wear a Jay Z signed watch, you have reached a personal level of comfort and security that I wish to achieve at some point in my life.

I think management is well aware that they would be fine without all the endorsements. I think they just don't care and continue to do things the way they want. They know who they are better than any of us.. The last thing they would want to do is hurt their brand by bad marketing and or over marketing.

[FremStar]

Originally Posted by kilyung

To be honest my dislike of LE/SE has more to do with design elements than any name or brand association. The JZ and Shaq models have dial elements that just don't do anything for me. However I very much like the RB2 and newer Messi designs. Similarly I like the IWC Top Gun designs despite the branding on the case side - although the newer model (with branding on the caseback) is more palatable. Panerais probably have more LE/SE than any other manufacture and for the most part I like them all because of their designs. As such a Rolex with branding on the back wouldn't bother me as long as I liked the design. Just goes to show that I'm consistent in my quirkiness.

I hear you sir!

Originally Posted by T.S.Eliot

The RG44 is a fabulous reference but this is simply... Timeless!

With that pic it is now time for me to make a motion to move my 44! I like the quote and theme of a timeless Genta design! Lovely!

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Not to start a war but I don't think Vacheron quality is anywhere near Patek or where it used to be. I have owned several and was quite disappointed actually and found them to look and feel cheap. I personally own a handful of Patek and there is just no comparison. I also prefer my AP's as well and consider them higher quality than Vacheron. I know this thread is about marketing but what the heck!

PS you really should look at 3970P's too as they are quite similar to 5004 in looks less the repeater. That is my personal favorite but what do I know.

Again marketing has nothing to do with what I wear or why I buy! I buy what I like and my collection has room for variety of brands and for different reasons and purposes!

Weekend watch:


Work watch:

With these two pics this is where the thread ends!

Thanks for this thought provoking thread DK3! One of the better threads I have read here in awhile!

[bobbystevenson]

The "AP" on Rick Ross's watch is upside down. I wonder why??? To make it easier to identify? Sorry, that's my entire contribution to this thread. Seems he really want people to know its an AP?

Originally Posted by montres1

maybe they should sign rick ross to boost up sale

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by bobbystevenson

The "AP" on Rick Ross's watch is upside down. I wonder why??? To make it easier to identify? Sorry, that's my entire contribution to this thread. Seems he really want people to know its an AP?

It's inverted not upside down.

[dddrees]

Wow, what a good read. Well stated, pretty intelligent, and opinionated, but it didn't get ugly.


Thank you.

[h999r]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Not to start a war but I don't think Vacheron quality is anywhere near Patek or where it used to be. I have owned several and was quite disappointed actually and found them to look and feel cheap. I personally own a handful of Patek and there is just no comparison. I also prefer my AP's as well and consider them higher quality than Vacheron. I know this thread is about marketing but what the heck!

PS you really should look at 3970P's too as they are quite similar to 5004 in looks less the repeater. That is my personal favorite but what do I know.

Again marketing has nothing to do with what I wear or why I buy! I buy what I like and my collection has room for variety of brands and for different reasons and purposes!

Weekend watch:


Work watch:

Couldn't agree more.

[orangedial]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

I venture to say none of us who are watch fanatics buy watches because of any marketing departments but purely for the love of the watch itself. That love is derived of the look, finish, quality, and feel among other things.

Can't agree enough!

[Royalex]

Totally agree