March 25, 2014
Switzerland’s IWC Schaffhausen is building exposure for its involvement as the official “festival time” partner at New York’s 13th annual Tribeca Film Festival through a live social stream to keep fans in the know.
IWC will reprise its role as festival time partner for a second year April 16-27 where the watchmaker celebrates cinematic arts. Many watch brands look to the sporting world to build awareness among a captive audience, but for IWC this partnership will yield similar results.
"Too often a brand's marketing efforts are siloed," said Raquel V. Cadourcy, vice president of business development and strategic accounts at HelloWorld, New York. "Internally brands talk about and make their marketing decisions based on very specific view points whether it's mobile, social, etc.
"A consumer on the other hand sees one brand, they just happen to interact with the brand via various channels," she said. "These days it's all about a holistic approach and working cross-channel in a strategic way.
"Aligning all efforts gives your consumer a holistic viewpoint of your brand and gives them the opportunity to interact with the brand in a way that suites them and their lifestyle best. Combing various social channels in one key place, as IWC watches has done, is strategic and will certainly help them to engage with their core audience."
Ms. Cadourcy is not affiliated with IWC, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
IWC did not respond by press deadline.
Movie times
To generate interest in the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival, IWC has used its social media to publicize its affiliation.
IWC's Tribeca Film Festival Facebook post
Instead of having multiple posts in numerous locations, IWC gathered its social media campaigns together on one site to allow the consumer to easily digest content. Housed on IWC’s Web site, the Tribeca Film Festival section features a live social feed to eliminate the need for multiple applications.
The site begins with IWC’s one of one Pilot’s Watch Spitfire Chronograph Edition Tribeca Film Festival 2014. Created specifically for the 2014 festival, the watch features an 18-karat gold case with a slate-colored face and two red Bordeaux subdials.
On the caseback, the logo of the Tribeca Film Festival 2014 is seen and includes a stamp signifying that the watch is a unique, one-of-a-kind timepiece. According to IWC, the reinterpretation of this piece is meant to “evoke images of the legendary red carpet of Hollywood’s golden age juxtaposed vividly with the dramatic grandeur of the steely city of New York.”
IWC's Pilot’s Watch Spitfire Chronograph Edition Tribeca Film Festival 2014
From this section, the consumer can learn more about the timepiece by clicking the arrow icon that lands on a blog post explaining that the watch will be auctioned off April 9 at the luxury timepiece auction house, Antiquorum. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go toward the support of the Tribeca Film Institute.
Below, timepiece enthusiasts can be kept up-to-date about IWC’s involvement with the Tribeca Film Festival by following its social media threads. The live-streamed conversation includes IWC’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channel.
As of press time, IWC had eight posts from its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. As the events gets closer, most notably the auction, it is likely that IWC will extend its social feed into YouTube to air red carpet or auction house footage.
IWC's social feed for Tribeca Film Festival
The live social feed can be viewed here: http://www.iwc.com/en/experiences/tribeca-film-festival-2014/.
Home schooling
Creating a one-stop destination for consumers to explore a brand’s content will hold attention longer, while streamlining the experience.
For example, French jewelry maison Van Cleef & Arpels combined its social media accounts into the jeweler’s first Flipboard magazine issue for a seamless experience that promotes sharing and educates consumers about the brand’s inner workings.
According to Van Cleef & Arpels, the jeweler introduced the first Flipboard publication on the social magazine application dedicated solely to the works of a high jewelry maison. Branded magazines of all types are a popular trend among luxury brands and are used to expand awareness among dedicated consumers and entice unfamiliar individuals through curated content that highlights achievements, innovation and craftsmanship (see story).
It is valuable for a brand to lessen the route needed to educate consumers.
For instance, Swiss watchmaker Jaquet Droz developed a dedicated museum-like Web site to pay homage to its founders by showcasing timepieces from throughout its heritage.
Jaquet Droz’s Gallery of Marvels takes watch enthusiasts through various types of timepieces to build awareness about the watchmaker’s history (see story).
IWC may see an increase in engagement if the watchmaker incorporates user-generated content to its live social feed through the Tribeca Film Festival.
"User-generated content certainly helps to identify your truly engaged consumers," Ms. Cadourcy said.
"Consumers dedicated and loyal to a brand will endure a higher barrier and will participate by engaging with the brand via user generated content," she said.
"Content generated by users also makes things more personal so asking the audience to engage with the brand via user generated content will build a deeper connection but at the same time, due to the time commitment, the brand needs to offer an incentive in return to its consumer."
Final Take
Jen King, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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