KMII
[Montblanc Moderator]
51355
Grand Seiko seems to be launching an 'offensive' in Europe
Unlike in some other markets, Grand Seiko is a relatively rare appearance in Europe. It is often more difficult to source with few ADs and now a small but growing number of Boutiques. And it has been kept largely under the radar in most countries in terms of advertising.
With this background I was very surprised during my recent transit at Frankfurt airport to see hundereds of advertisements like the one below. Pretty much every advertising space in the terminal I flew from was booked by GS.
I guess they are finally executing on what has been communicated lately, namely that they want to expand more aggressively in the higher priced segments (from Seiko's point of view) outside of their core markets. I am very curious to see how far they will be willing to take it and what effect this will have on the overall watch landscape.
Any other sightings by other Purists?
Grand Seiko seems to be launching an 'offensive' in Europe
Unlike in some other markets, Grand Seiko is a relatively rare appearance in Europe. It is often more difficult to source with few ADs and now a small but growing number of Boutiques. And it has been kept largely under the radar in most countries in terms...
I fully agree with you
I have only visited one of their Boutiques in Europe - the one in Frankfurt. While the sales experience was exemplary, some other aspects were worrying. I for instance ordered the 60th Anniversary Presage Chronograph (SRQ019) as soon as it was released in...
They can't really appoint more ADs, they're not able to make enough pieces to provide stock...at least not if the volume sold in Japan and the general region remains as is.
The adverts are probably to get more traffic into their Frankfurt boutique and German ADs. Would be interesting to see if the same campaign is in effect in Austria, Paris, and wherever else they have boutiques in Continental Europe. There\'ll be nothing a...
Thanks for your insight PJ S!
Are they about to open up a Boutique in Vienna? So far it\'s two ADs plus the semi presence at a shop at the airport (usually they have only one watch). So not that much, given that the brand is not in real focus at any of them...
We need some brightly-colored "Check out GS on WatchProSite.com" stickers to paste on those posters ...
Maybe we can get our readership & participation up a bit Mike
Not great
As an ad agency/marketing guy I look at this and want to tear my hair out - what\'s left of it. It\'s better than nothing but in communication terms it\'s really, really poor. There\'s no sense of story, no clue as to what GS stands for or why I should ca...
Looking at this in a different way...
From the perspective of someone who does not know about GS you may well be right. Personally I am getting increasingly jaded with the idea of brand ambassadors, lifestyle positioning (especially when it\'s of the \'fake it till you make it\' kind) etc. Th...
Sadly not global
If my crew were global I would say yes. For a brand with almost zero awareness, billboards in airports are a waste of money - neither efficient nor effective for engaging consumers. I certainly would not focus on "lifestyle" but would want to tap the pass...
Looking at their new ads on Watchville...
And the new GS IG accounts that just got launched, it seems they took your advice to mind
There appears to be a disconnect
,or at best,disco-ordination. With the launch of Grand Seiko as an distinct unit,those adverts appear out of date. Would certainly welcome more appropriate promotions of this stellar brand!
Maybe they should have been taken down?
Your post was three weeks before Basel. I'd say Seiko doesn't really know how to build suspense for their flagship line.
A Dog's Breakfast
It\'s so critical that when you relaunch a brand that you create "white space" around it so people can focus on the new and not get confused by the juxtaposition of old and new. The new campaign is better but the art direction/style looks about 20 years o...
Perhaps a different violin ...
Rather than "marching to the beat of a different drummer" Seiko in general and GS in particular appears to "stroll to the strains of a different violin." As a large company, it\'s is unusually headed by a founding family member; as a global company it\'s ...
At Basel
I was informed that a Grand Seiko boutique will be opening in the United Kingdom which is great news as their presence is minimal in the UK so far.