Tuesday, September 19, 2023
http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2023/09/195-rolex_19.html
#195 Blog Post - Tuesday,19 September 2023
Posted by DennyHatch
TheUltimate Challenge for a Copywriter:
Inventing a Reason to Buy a $41,990 Rolex.
(NOTE: At the end of thisblog post you're invited attend the Phillips Auction of Paul Newman's $17.8Million Rolex on YouTube. It's a hoot!)
Personal Backgrounder: For many years I have owned twoserviceable/disposable wristwatches. Both are Casio F-91W models that cost mearound $14.00 each. They are light, thin and unobtrusive. They keep accuratetime, have plastic rubber-like wrist bands and are easy to set and reset. Theyhave a tiny alarm that (very) quietly beeps twice on the hour. Why two watches?When a long-lived battery dies or I lose one of these cheap Casios, I have aspare. Whereupon I immediately buy a replacement, so I always have aback-up.
• Do I hankerto have a Rolex? Uh-uh. All I want is the time of day, date and time. Mycheap-o $14 Casio F-91W is more accurate than any five-figure Rolex. Nokidding.
From Their Respective Websites
Rolex: Accuracy: +/- 2-1/2 seconds per day.
Casio: Accuracy: +/- 15-20 secondper month.
BTW: What Determines Wristwatch Prices? "Complications!"
"Watches are complicated. No, seriously, some watches are literallycomplicated. To the unversed: this is a little horological joke. In the watchworld, the term “complication” refers to any function other than basictimekeeping. An alarm, a second time zone, or even just a date, are allcomplications."
—Jennifer Algoo, Visuals Director, Harper’s BAZAAR
WhatTriggered This Unusual Blog Post: Tennis, Carlos & Rolex.
A couple of years ago, Peggy and I stumbled on the tennis wizardry of CarlosAlcaraz, the young (then age 18, now 20) Spanish phenom. We have closelyfollowed him ever since; we seldom miss a match. Carlitos (as his devoted fanscall him) is the master of high drama, accuracy and trickery. He has two drop-deadspecialties that stun his opponents and fans:
• His feather-softdink or drop shot that suddenly ends a fierce long rally.
• Theamazing "tweener," where he chases down a lob over his head to thefar end of the court and blindly hits the ball backward between his legs with apinpoint accurate return lob followed by a wild whoop of the crowd and theannouncers. (You can see a YouTube Alcaraz "tweener" at the end ofthis blog post.)
Above all — winningor losing — is the joy, explosive energy and infectious delight Alcarazexhibits every moment he is on the court. He loves his opponents. He loves the crowd and the crowdsadore him. This pastJuly he won the 2023 Wimbledon Grand Slam and is currently ranked #1 or #2 inthe world, seesawing back and forth with Serbia'sNovak Djokovic. We started following him on the Tennis Channel and ESPNand have become incurable groupies.
The RolexConnection.
Alongwith our fascination with Alcaraz, this marketing junkie — a.k.a. Denny Hatch — has become intriguedby the dominance of Rolex watches in the tennis world. E.g., on ATPAssociation of Tennis Professionals) championship court scoreboards across the globe, plusmyriad photos of top tennis professionals wearing a Rolex watch.
Carlos Alcaraz Can Potentially Earn $8 Million per Year with
His Rolex Deal Following in the Footstepsof Roger Federer.
“The ‘Swiss Maestro’ Roger Federer,who is regarded as one of the most decorated brand ambassadors for Rolex signedhis first 10-year $15 million deal with the Swiss watchmaking company in 2006and was ultimately upgraded with a whopping $8 million annual deal in 2016.
“In January 2022 CarlosAlcaraz was signed by Rolex and joined the likes of Roger Federerand Jack Sinner. What thismeans for the Spaniard is that if he can keep up his impressive performance andelevate his career statistics, Rolex might potentially renew and offer him adeal even sweeter than Roger’s.”
—Aarav Singh Gill, Sportsmanor.com
A Quickie History of Rolex.
"Originally founded in 1905 in London by 24-year-old Hans Wilsdorf and hisbrother-in-law Alfred Davis, Rolex was first known as Wilsdorf & Davis.They originally imported movements, housed them in British cases, and sold themto jewelers. Through this, the pair saw the potential for developing their ownbrand. In 1908 this was realized when Wilsdorf secured the nameRolex." —thewatchbox.com.
Since founding, Rolex hasacquired more than 500 different patents and the company's 2000employee/watchmakers produce 8 types of classic watches for men — mostly byhand — as well as ladies’ watches. Prices run from $3,000 to (Daytona Oyster Reference6263) $227,481.
RolexIs the Main Sponsor of World Tennis.
"Rolex andtennis first came together when the brand partnered with the WimbledonChampionships in 1978 when tennis was experiencing a powerful transformation.The brand gradually forged links with all of the sport’s elite competitions.Rolex now partners the four Grand Slam tournaments, all the major Associationof Tennis Professionals (ATP) events in the men’s and women’s game and theleading international team contests." —Rolex.com
In addition to tennis, Rolex has become a preeminent force in the sponsorship of other high-profile sportingevents and individual athletes. The result is an avalanche of worldwide awareness of Rolex in print media, online and TV. Among them:
• Motor Sports: Rolex Daytona 24; Le Mans 24 Hours; FIA World Endurance;In addition, according to Forbes, Rolex pays an annual $50 million fee to Formula1 in order for their logo to be plastered on cars, advertising boardsat motor race tracks and drivers' outerwear.
• Automotive Classic Events: Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion; Pebble Beach Concoursd’Elegance®; Goodwood Revival.
• Yachting: Rolex partners some of the top crewed offshore races. The brand is associated with numerous annual and biannualcoastal regattas all over the world. It is Official Timepiece for two suchchampionships that are at the cutting edge of nautical technology: SailGP,featuring the planet’s fastest catamarans, and the 52 SUPER SERIES forhigh-performance TP52 monohulls. Rolex also partners prestigious offshoreraces, such as the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race andthe Rolex Middle Sea Race.
• Golf: Rolex partnerswith the R&A (Royal and Ancient) held at St. Andrews and the USGAMasters Tournament at Augusta in April; the PGA Championship in May; U.S. Open inJune; British Open in July. Plus Rolex support extends to all five Majors in women’s golf.
• OlympicEquestrian events: show jumping, dressage, other events.
Like theladies and gent above, you’d like to show off your $60,000 Rolex. More to thepoint Rolex desperately wants you to show it off. It’s gorgeous... famous... aconversation starter. Alas it’s on your wrist and often buried under yourjacket sleeve and/or shirt cuff. Rolex realizes they have a problem andprovides guidance on the website.
The Official Way to Show off Your Rolex
Rosser Reeves (1910-1984)
Chairman, Ted BatesAdvertising Agency
Rosser Reeves Conceived the "UniqueSelling Proposition."
– Each admust make a proposition: “Buy this product and you get these benefits."
– The proposition must beunique: something that your competitors do not, cannot or will not offer.
– The proposition mustsell: it must be something prospects really want; it pulls them over to yourproduct
MemorableUSPs—Unique Selling Propositions.
“99 and 44/100% pure.” —Ivory SoapProcter & Gamble, 1892)
“The skin you love to touch.” —WoodburySoap (J. Walter Thompson Co. 1911)
“When it rains it pours.” —Morton SaltN.W. Ayer & Son, 1912)
“We’ll leave the light on for you.” —Motel6 (Richards Group 1988)
“Bags Fly Free.” —Southwest AirlinesGSD&M, 2010)
About Rolexand Its Non-Existent USP.
•More than a dozen up-up-up-market watch companies manufacture spectaculartimepieces — all with myriad unique complications that sell for five- and sixfigures. Among them: Cartier - Hermès - Van Cleef & Arpels – Panerai –Grand Seiko – Patek Phillipe - Tag Heuer.
• All areexquisite masterpieces of the watchmaker’s art — beautifully crafted, manybejeweled (especially women’s models), with seemingly infinite choices of"complications."
• However, comparedto Rolex — with its 120-year history and vast worldwide recognition — other watchmakerscome across as boutique operations, even though they produce fine products andare profitable.
In short, Rolex is king!
As a Result, Rolex Has Never Had a Unique Selling Proposition.
Quite simply no single watch model — or Rolex family of watches —stands out above all others in the luxury timepiece industry. All watches are alike. They are the same wee size, tell accurate timeand have myriad complications.
What separates Rolex from the pack are the extraordinary headliners — show biz legends, sports heroes, corporate tycoons, investors, scientists, explorers, adventurers, gamblers, jet setters, and assorted risk takers.
Every time Rolex owners JoeSchlub or Jane Lunchbox peek at their Rolex to see what time it is, they get asecret — almost guilty — stab of pleasure and pride of membership in theelite circle of world renowned celebrities rich-rich men and women on therecord and in the media as Rolex owners.
A Partial Who's Who of Rolex Celebs and High Achievers Past & Current Seen and Photographed Wearing a Rolex:
AlessandraAmbrosio, Jennifer Aniston, Cardi B, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, James Bond,Bono, Bjorn Borg, Warren Buffet, Sandra Bullock, James Cameron, Sir Malcolm Campbell, FidelCastro, Jacques Chirac, Winston Churchill, Eric Clapton, Daniel Craig, Tom Cruise,Ellen DeGeneres, Clint Eastwood, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Chris Evert, Roger Federer, Chiara Ferragni, GeraldFord, Jennifer Garner, Ina Garten, Mercedes Gleitz, Ernesto Che Guevara, RobertDowny, Jr., Muammar Gaddafi, Ryan Gosling, Rachel Green, Kevin Hart, Sir Edmund Hillary, Paris Hilton, PopeJohn-Paul II, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Lindsay Lohan, John F. Kennedygifted by Marilyn Monroe), Jean-Claude Killy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Lydia Ko, Kyle Kuzma, Bernhard Langer, AdamLevine, J-Lo, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Madonna, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Neymar, Jack Nicklaus, Anna Nordqvist, Tenzing Norgay, Barack Obama,Arnold Palmer, Roger Penske, Jacques Piccard, Brad Pitt, Gary Player, ElvisPresley, Jon Rahm, Emily Ratajkowsk, Ronald Reagan, Rihanna, Franklin D. Roosevelt, NicholasSarkozy, Adaam Scott, Will Smith, Annnika Sorenstam, Jason Statham, Jordan Spieth, Jackie Stewart, Sharon Stone, Kiri Te Kanawa,Charlize Theron, Justin Thomas, Lexi Thompson, Sofia Vergara, Lindsey Vonn,Mark Wahlberg, Tom Watson, Kanye West, Caroline Wozniacki, Reese Witherspoon, TigerWoods, Boris Yeltsin, Alexander Zverev .
Think of it!Buy a Rolex and you can take your place among these luminaries! If you happento meet up with one of them, you have an immediate conversational opener and shared interest to talk about. You are equals in something.
In short you — the Rolex customer — is its USP!
Below is anearly Rolex space ad. It emphatically ain’t about the watch. It’s all aboutyou — Rolex owner — imagining yourself mingling with world leaders.
I retyped the teensy, totally unreadable white type reversedout on a black background at bottom of this ad. Here 'tis:
When aSummit Conference is held at Geneva’s Palais des Nations, the best watch in theworld is there.
You can recognize its classic shape, carved out of a solid block of gold fromthe other end of the conference table.
Inside the solid, pressure-proof walls of its Oyster case is a self-winding,officially certified chronometer movement.
In our own building in Geneva, there is a room lined with the portraits of mostof the world’s leaders.
The Rolex they wear is the Datejust. In 18 ct. gold with matching Jubileebracelet.
Remember theseven key copy drivers — the emotional hot buttons that cause people to act asarticulated by Axel Andersson, Bob Hacker and yours truly:
fear - greed - guilt - anger - exclusivity - salvation -flattery
In theimmortal words of Seattle Marketing guru Bob Hacker: "If your copy isn'tdripping with one or more of these, tear it up and start over."
This Rolexprint ad is dripping with Exclusivity and Flattery
Guaranteedto Excite and Delight You: A Gallery of YouTube Fun Plus Rolex Product Owners.
(You areinvited to STEAL SMART!)
1. The Alcaraz "Tweener"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK_mKZb8dOY
2. PhillipsAuction of Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0tjSUOvi5k&t=33s
NOTE: Including the buyer's premium of 12.5% (the Phillips Gallery commission) added to the last bid,the final price comes to $17,752,500.)
3. Academy Awards 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3TkPZPB5AE
4. It Tells History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=055u423Qc_o
5. Federer, Le Mans, Equestrian, Immelmann
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN_v1IYzMSo
Takeawaysto Consider
• If youwere to buy Paul Newman’s $17 million Daytona Rolex, this is a schematic/outlineof what you own.
• Many Rolex owners are collectors with up to a dozen or more watches — hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on acquiring Rolex bling they show off in special exhibit cases as a kind of mini-museum.
• Imaginethe grand works they could do — the human misery they could alleviate — with this money going to the betterment of the world.
• Their liveswould have real purpose. They would be universally beloved!
• IMO: Thisentire business of wristwatch collecting is nuts.
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