Tokyo (SCCIJ) – Swiss manufacturers of luxury jewelry and watches are employing a multitude of innovative marketing techniques to reach their current and potential customers in Japan. The spectrum of ideas and initiatives reaches from immersive exhibitions to special sales applications and events with charitable intentions.
A blockchain secures the guarantee of Favre-Leuba watches (© Favre-Leuba)
Blockchain secured warranty
For example, Favre-Leuba has taken an technologically new step to protect sold watches and the interests of their owners. The second oldest Swiss watch brand renowned for its tool watches, such as the Bivouac and Bathy, developed a uniquely secured warranty system. The identity of each watch is stored on an immutable ledger in the implemented software system with blockchain technology.
If the watch is stolen, it can be traced, thus making it difficult for the thieves to sell it on the secondary market. Only authorized dealers can activate the warranty of a watch. The warranty system, therefore, offers the highest level of security available. “We have introduced this system also to Japan,” says Luca Orduna of the Japanese distributor Swissprimebrands.
Also, Japanese sales companies demonstrate their genius in the marketing of Swiss and foreign watches. E.g., the watch specialty store A.M.I. launched its own sales application for smartphones. It enables its customers to chat directly with sales staff and receive after-sales support. This store also has opened a “Net Boutique” and sells Swiss watches online.
Audemars Piguet held the exhibition “Beyond Watchmaking” in Ropponi Midtown (© Audemars Piguet)
Exhibition of craftmanship
The competing brand Audemars Piguet presents its watches as a symbiosis of art and craftsmanship. Its marketing idea: An immersive exhibition in Tokyo celebrated the innovative individuals who have elevated the brand’s meticulous craftsmanship. ‘Beyond Watchmaking’ about the 144-year journey of Audemars Piguet’s craft took place in Tokyo Roppongi Midtown and created for its visitors a sensorial journey through the manufacturer’s geographic, cultural, and historical legacy.
The Japanese twist of the exhibition were installations of Ryoji Ikeda, a leading electronic composer and visual artist who explored the essential characteristics of sound and light employing mathematical precision and aesthetics. By orchestrating sounds, visuals, materials, physics, and mathematics, Ikeda went beyond the conceptual to delve into extremes and infinites, testing the limits of human senses and digital technology.
Oris Japan organizes cleanings of Ginza streets as a positive marketing tool (© Oris Japan via Twitter)
An “inclusive” brand
As one of the few independent watch brands in Switzerland, Oris has been putting the marketing focus on making positive changes. Instead of investing significant capital into some celebrities or Hollywood stars as brand ambassadors, Oris sponsors charitable organizations like Pacific Garbage Screening, Reef Restoration Foundation, and the Movember Foundation supporting the health of men as a promotion channel for its products.
In connection with the projects, Oris Japan holds special consumer events quite regularly, such as the cleaning of beaches and Ginza streets and the temporary opening of a Movember Charity Bar. “We are trying to be an ‘inclusive’ instead of ‘exclusive’ brand,” explains Mamiko Tanaka, the country manager of Oris Japan.
Text: Martin Fritz for SCCIJ
