As unique as the brand itself, the new Rolex Deepsea Sea-Dweller D-Blue Watch gets introduced outsiTAG Heuer has been evolving and developing into a much more affordable brand, and one that really is targeting a more youthful demographic. The new brand message slogan, “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” is a hint at the future company direction, and not just a marketing tag line.
Many of the watch brands have taken new direction over the last decade because of a variety of reasons, one, the sluggish economy, and two because of how the major players in the industry have shifted in production of watch movements. Cost is a critical component and one that has direct impact on selling price, so it is important to the brand to reach a more accessible price point.
TAG Heuer is part of the LVMH group, and is another reason for the brand to be trying to return to a more reasonable price point, as all of the watch manufacturers in the group are high-end price points. Along with Bulgari, Zenity and Hublot, the brand wants a more entry level timepiece in addition to entry level pricing. Designing and producing a compelling timepiece in that entry level point is important to the group, offering the wider range benefits them in a variety of ways, allowing them to cater to a larger demographic audience, and challenging them to produce a technically brilliant piece in that range.
The new campaign verbage is inspiring and brings them more determination in crafting timepieces for specific lifestyles and showcase the new focus of the brand. It also conveys the message to the globe that the brand’s “unbreakable determination” is back and they want to recapture the popularity they gained in the 1990s while continuing the quality and reliability that has become known for the brand name. You can expect to see more athletic personalities used in advertising and shifting away from the Hollywood types as well during this push for new branding.
The Swiss watchmaker can move toward the more cost effective solutions because they do use base movements from third party suppliers. While they do offer their own in-house movements, the more affordable ones will fall to supplies like ETA or Sellita to name a couple they work with. Lowering the production costs in these ways provides the opportunity for TAG Heuer to develop quality timepieces, while pushing the product focus to the new branding, keeping style in the forefront and of course still manufacture reliable products.
So while the brand drives forward with “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” as their message, one can rest assured the higher-end collections are still being produced, but the door is now open for many of the brand’s historic fans to rejoice as these lower end timepieces will be available. So you can love the brand and wear the watches.