Creating and delivering the brand experience: How do you do it? Forty students from the PGE's Strategic and Operational Marketing English-language track were able to discover the manufacturing secrets of the Omega brand (Swatch group) in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, on December 13, accompanied by their professors François Courvoisier and Marie Bashuntkina from HEC Neuchatel and Claire Roederer from EM Strasbourg. A master class in experiential marketing by expert watchmakers!
Heritage and Work Ethic
Since 1848, Omega has been combining excellence, innovation, and design to offer mechanical watches under its four brands: Constellation, Seamaster, Speedmaster, Deville. As Raynald Aeschlimann, CEO of Omega writes, “We choose to do the things we do, not because it's easy, but because it's hard”. This approach is based on a work ethic and values of high standards and perfection that are lived out in all the company's activities and in every detail from the design of new models, to their assembly in the Biel/Bienne workshops, to their launches that thrill customers all over the world.
Omega is fortunate to be able to enrich the experience it offers with highlights from the human history that surrounds the brand. No far-fetched storytelling here, just sraight facts, and these make the story of the brand captivating and authentic.
In 1969, the first man to set foot on the moon wore an Omega Speedmaster watch on his wrist. The fiftieth anniversary of this founding moment was celebrated with the launch of the Speedmaster “Dark Side of the Moon” in 2019.
Since 1932, Omega has guaranteed the accurate measurement of sports performance at the Olympic Games. Performance measurement is in the DNA of a brand certified by the COSC (the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute) which launched a new certification in 2015, the “Master Chronometer” in partnership with the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS).
The Importance of Brand Ambassadors
The students also understood the importance of choosing ambassadors for the brand from George Clooney, whose father collected Omega watches, to actor Daniel Craig, the current James Bond. The key word for the choice of ambassadors is consistency with the brand's values and loyalty over time.
Speedy Tuesday or the Mastery of Social Commerce
While celebrating its heritage, Omega is also very quick to understand the new codes of communication and the importance of social networks and brand communities. In 2017, the brand sold 2,012 copies of the “Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday” limited hours in 4 hours via Instagram and which was only available in presale on the Omega website. Usually distributed in physical shops, the brand thus became “closer” to its customers and offered something very concrete on its website.
By reducing the psychological distance, the brand encouraged concrete thinking (instant pre-order, limited edition) and convinced 2,012 people to take action, thus generating an estimated turnover of 10 million Swiss francs in 4 hours, without compromising the brand's identity (luxury, exclusive, which therefore implies a certain distance) and its values (performance, innovation).