ONE SIDE OF THE FORCE (official communication)
Baume & Mercier
and…
THE OTHER SIDE (less official communication?)
When you know the “conservative” approach of marketing & communication people in the watchmaking industry, there’s one question which is coming to my mind:
Who did decide on this…the Agency or the Brand???
You could find one answer in consulting an expert’s perspective (Gregory Pons, in French). If we assume that the brand was not aware of this agency’s initiative, a second question is coming:
What could the brand do next?
…as a potential customer, I have no clue about this backstage story.
One side of the force will push for initiating a lawsuit against the agency and try to remove the video from the net (not my favorite option), or just ignore it.
The other side of the force (my preferred option) will hire the agency (with a huge discount on the fees) and brief them to write a follow-up based on storytelling (buzz only) in order to re-connect the perceived image with the core positioning of the brand, but with something which is adding value!
One angle might be: What is the white man doing next?
I will be happy to get your opinion on this subject.
May the force be with you
2 responses so far ↓
1 Peter David // Jul 16, 2008 at 9:10 am
OK, let’s take the teaser seriously for a moment, without considering ownership and intellectual property right issues, not to mention brand and image communication.
The punch line is based on the assumption that the White Guy was looking at the Black Guy’s penis while, according to the story, he was impressed by his luxury watch and not his genitals. I am sorry, this does not seem to hit home. Men, as a rule, tend to be discrete and do not watch each other in the Men’s Room. Often the stalls are separated from each other, probably because this is the way men feel comfortable taking their “comfort break”.
So, it is not only the many other concerns I’ve listed above but the core issue. The basis on which this story is constructed does not work, in my opinion.
For marketers, the more important issues are the ones addressed by Frederic, and I hope to see here a good professional discussion evolving.
Best,
Peter
2 admin // Jul 16, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Many thanks Peter for your contribution and comments.
I have the same personal opinion on the lack of subtlety of the story line. If I want to have a look on a watch, I’m visiting a retailer and restrooms are not so far popular for merchandising precious items
However, this video is efficient as it has created a lot of buzz even 3 months after its release.
You conclusion from a consumer’s point of view is very important as most probably you will remember this video but what about the brand and its image.
At the end of the day, I think, that creating the Buzz for the Buzz is not so difficult. The most critical part is to have the ability to manage it smartly (having initiating it or not) while bringing some added value to the message you want to convey to consumers.
In this case, Baume & Mercier is in a tricky situation, so they have to react but in which direction?
Frederic
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