Do Black People Buy Watches? An Interesting Counterpoint and a Paler Shade of White

Now not surprisingly, some interesting discussions took place following Wednesday's post.  And one person opined that I had clearly "cherry picked", looking for two brands that made it easy to prove a point.  So I asked for their suggestions and they mentioned Tag Heuer, Rolex, Hublot and some of the other usual suspects.  In other words, check out all of the big dogs who dip their toes in the brand ambassador pool.  

Seems fair enough to me.

So as we continue our side by side comparisons, first up today is Hublot -

I have a love-hate relationship with the folks in Nyon.  On the one hand, they have done some very good charity work, they make some interesting watches, and in many ways demonstrate how powerful an idea can be when it is properly executed.  And on that score there can be no debate.

On the other hand, they have partnered with some truly dubious characters in the past, and seem to have a hard time breaking up with a certain pugilist who has a less than stellar record outside of the ring.

But one thing has to be acknowledged - of the 14 individuals currently listed on their website under the Partnership category, 3 are black.  Usain Bolt, Dwayne Wade, and the King himself - Pelé.  They have also partnered in the past with Kobe Bryant (probably the less said about the "Vino" watch, the better).  In addition (as mentioned above) they have partnered with Floyd Mayweather, and if memory serves, Jay Zee touched down briefly on planet Hublot in the not-too-distant past.  And while 3 current ambassadors might seem pretty lean, when you compare it to our two previous brands -

Omega - 0
Audemars Piguet - 1

3 seems like a pretty big number.

But when we look at corporate stable mate Tag Heuer, we encounter a return to the apparent norm in the Swiss luxury industry.  Now I need to be clear, once again, I am basing this on what I can see on the Tag Heuer website right now.  These ambassadorships are divided into categories, so in the interest of clarity, I will break these down accordingly:

Art & Music -
5 ambassadors
0 black ambassadors

Lifestyle -
5 ambassadors
0 black ambassadors

Sport -
14 ambassadors & "friends" 
1 black ambassador - Tim Howard 

3 ambassadors (if you don't count the car)
1 black ambassador - Muhammad Ali

Now in fairness, with 2 ambassadors, Tag Heuer is way ahead of Omega.  On the other hand, one of those ambassadors is no longer with us, so it is sort of a difficult daily exposure idea to leverage.
And I find it fascinating because Tag Heuer spares no expense in promoting their brands and spreading the word.  So clearly, this is not a budgetary issue.  At least not in the traditional sense.

 
 

 

One for the Ages...

Not.

Courtesy of Hublot

This is Hublot's latest journey down the rabbit hole of excess, vanity and brain-dead partnerships.

This is the Big Bang Unico Retrograde Kobe "Vino" Bryant - just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

Now apparently, there is a deep connection between between basketball, watchmaking, and wine making... for realsies?

Well, Mr. Bryant was kind enough to wax poetically on how this really (ugly, I'm sorry this thing hurts my feelings just looking at it) "unique" Hublot model came to be -

Kobe Brant, Hublot Brand Ambassador, said: “It is an honor to launch my second Hublot Timepiece, Vino. When I joined the Hublot family, the Black Mamba was a natural fit, but we also discussed the relationship between basketball, watchmaking and wine; specifically, the dedication of the wine makers to making that perfect blend, the effort that goes into the maturation process and the attention to detail that goes into the art of watchmaking," he added.

Courtesy of Hublot

Who knows, maybe he'll actually wear this one.  For those of you still interested, here are the specs - I'm heading out to search for some Pepto-Bismol. 

BIG BANG UNICO CHRONOGRAPH RETROGRADE KOBE ''VINO'' BRYANT

Reference: 
413.CX.4723.PR.KOB15 (Ceramic – Limited edition of 200 pieces) 
413.OX.4738.PR.KOB15 (King Gold – Limited edition of 100 pieces)
Diameter:
45.5 mm
Water Resistant:
10 ATM (100m)
Movement:
Caliber Hublot HUB1261
UNICO Manufacture self-winding Bi-retrograde movement with central chronograph and column wheel
Power Reserve:
72 Hours

Money Down the Drain - Partnerships, a Cautionary Tale

The news broke yesterday not unlike the lancing of an infected boil - the owner of the Atlanta Hawks will be selling his controlling interest in the team following the disclosure of his less than tactful comments regarding race.  What's that got to do with watches you ask?  Well, as another blogger out there announced at the time, this was a big deal for Audemars Piguet when it was announced that they would be partnering with the Hawks as their "official timekeeper".  It is possible that there might be a bit of "Monday morning regret" in that part of Switzerland this morning.

In fairness, we can't see the future.  We assess opportunity and balance it against risk and we hope for a favorable outcome.  No doubt Hublot had high hopes when they climbed into Jerry Jones's lap (otherwise known as the courtesy suite) in hopes that a partnership with "America's Team" would lead to massive market recognition and brand awareness - because everyone in AMERICA, not just TEXAS LOVES the Dallas Cowboys…  clearly the hometown fans of Dallas did not get that particular memo as the stands for their opening game, in their home stadium were filled with - San Francisco 49ers fans.  Mr. Jones was pretty much indifferent to the situation.  I am sure that the folks at Hublot HQ will be thrilled to hear that.

But it doesn't stop with team partnerships, sometimes your favorite player can inadvertently bite your hand while it's handing him another new watch.  And while I am not 100% certain,  the watch on Kobe Bryant's wrist on the recent cover of Sports Illustrated does NOT appear to be the Hublot King Power Black Mamba…

Here's the thing, brands can do as they wish.  It is easy (of course) to sit on the sidelines and "cherry-pick" our critiques about who is smart and who screwed-up.  But perhaps it is time for brands to go back to an earlier model that seemed to work pretty well "back in the day" -

TALK ABOUT WATCHES!

Everything else is just noise, and oftentimes it's noise that you don't want your customers to hear.

GIRARD-PERREGAUX Partners for KOBE BRYANT Charity Efforts

On Sunday, April 22^nd Girard-Perregaux partnered with the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, where Kobe and Vanessa hosted an intimate fundraising event at the home of one of the foundation’s board members in Los Angeles to support the organization, which is dedicated to improving the lives of youth and families in need.

Courtesy of Girard-Perregaux

Over 60 guests including Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber, Jo Champa, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers and more attended and participated in a live auction with Andrea Fiuczynski from Christie’s. All proceeds will benefit the foundation. All six board members attended, including Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, Karyn Silver, Carol Cheng-Meyer, Aileen Getty and Patrick Soon-Shiong. 

Included in the auction was a custom Girard-Perregaux WW.TC Shadow timepiece, identical to the one worn by Bryant that evening. His timepiece is engraved with his initials and jersey number.