A trend to spot
Already a year ago, we closely examined the social networking site, Facebook, in order to try and identify conversations among Internet users regarding watch brands. We analyzed a certain number of Fan Pages—those spaces reserved for the promotion of products and services—which had a following of 40,000 people who exchanged comments on their favourite brands.
The publication of this article last year aroused a lot of reactions from experts, journalists and industry decision-makers. They asked many questions, including the following: Is this just a passing fad? Are these Fan Pages going to be important? Are the brands themselves interested in this phenomenon? How can Facebook be beneficial for them?

The rise in strength of social networking
In order to try and respond to these questions, we conducted the fifth edition of the WorldWatchReport in collaboration with Europa Star. In this study, we looked, for the first time, at the visibility data for 25 watch brands on social media platforms. As of May 2009, the number of watch brand Fans on Facebook had tripled and represen-ted more than 130,000 people.
While we are only at the beginning of this phenomenon, a first observ-ation was crystal clear: The visibility of watch brands on their own websites was no longer enough. In fact, the time spent by Internet users on social networks has continued to increase over the last few years but the traffic on most of the official watch brand sites, of all types, has shown a decreasing trend over the last two years.
As a result, we can consider that the web itself has become a social platform. The online user is looking to connect, to share, to organize and even to recommend. He or she is no longer willing to be merely a passive visitor to a website that does not offer much interactivity or sharing. In other words, the ability to interact is more important than just gaining information. With this in mind, what is the situation of watch brands on Facebook, one year after our initial investigation?





The latest numbers
As this article goes to press, more than 230,000 people are now Fans of prestigious watch brands, an increase of 440 per cent over the number of watch enthusiasts registered last year.
Among the highest increases, Hublot wins the prize with nearly 38,000 Fans on the ‘Hublot-GenÈve’ page—compare this to only 1,700 Fans just six months ago. Hublot just recently passed Cartier, in first position since a year, which is followed by 40,000 Fans. The digital aptitude of the Geneva brand will most certainly reinforce its first place during the coming months. The Rolex and Bulgari Fan Pages have also benefited from strong viral marketing efforts and each brand now has nearly 28,000 Fans, compared to only 1,000 a year ago.

The first steps of watchmakers
According to our latest analysis, 11 out of the 25 brands examined in the WorldWatchReport officially manage their own Fan Pages: Breguet, Bulgari, Ebel, Girard-Perregaux, Longines, Montblanc, Omega, Piaget, Rado, Raymond Weil and TAG Heuer. Can we deduce that this indicates a change in mentality, even the end of certain presumptions, about the importance of social networking in the marketing strategies of these brands? The answer is probably yes, especially since some of them do not stop at Facebook. More and more, watch brands are creating official marketing channels on YouTube, where they upload their videos, or on the newest platform, Twitter, where they can distribute their news and converse differently with their followers.

A matter of proximity
It may seem contradictory to think that the Internet can contribute to closer personal ties between an artisan and the final client, who has fallen somewhat into the background because of the globalization of the watch industry. Yet, it is undeniable that new technologies offer a formidable opportunity for the brands to regain a certain proximity to their clients. By listening to them and participating in their conversations, the brands can obtain ways to strengthen their brand universe with existing clients while flirting with new prospects.

Source: Europa Star December-January 2010 Magazine Issue