Why are consumers over the moon with the Swatch X OMEGA collab?
May 17, 2023
Snaking queues emerged globally as Swatch and OMEGA announced the drop of its BIOCERAMIC MoonSwatch collection over the weekend. The 11 series collection pays homage to planets and were priced at an affordable US$258. The hot new collaboration puts a youthful twist to OMEGA’s iconic Speedmaster Moonwatch which sells at a minimum of US$6,600. The launch of the watches saw consumers queuing in the wee hours of the morning not just in Singapore, but across markets such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and many others. The global frenzy prompted Swatch to release a statement on its website that the watches will be limited to one watch per person until further notice, reemphasising that this isn’t a limited edition collection and the watches will be available in select Swatch Stores for the coming weeks. The collaboration comes as The Swatch Group, which oversees 17 brands including OMEGA, struggled in the past few years with global sales of the watches and fine jewellery industries heavily impacted due to the COVID-19 restrictions. However, eCommerce has certainly been a buffer for the company which reduced 22% of its retail network due to movement constraints. Nonetheless, if the weekend’s crowds were any indication for the brand, clearly the collaboration has revived its retail outlets. In fact, in its 2021 financials the group said that it anticipates double-digit sales growth in local currencies in 2022 “ensured by numerous, and in some cases, spectacular new products from the brands in all segments”. Spectacular, indeed. Industry players MARKETING-INTERACTVE spoke to say the move is not just a great way to spike short-term sales for the Swatch Group, but also introduces a new consumer segment to OMEGA. The idea of two brands collaborating especially in the fashion and luxury industry is not new, and in recent years has accelerated. Most recently, Gucci partnered up with sister brand Balenciaga for “The Hacker Project”, a collection that “hacked” designs from iconic pieces from each brand. Other examples include Tiffany and Supreme, Nike Air Jordan and Dior. In the watch industry we have also recently seen Hublot and Murakami pair up, while John Mayer and Gshock also inked a collaboration. In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTVE, managing director of Carousell Hong Kong, Kevin Huang, who is also a watch enthusiast, said, what made the success of the OMEGA x Swatch, also known as MoonSwatch, so great was due to the fact that two iconic brands having a deep history and a major fan base coming together to offer something that was fun, accessible and affordable to the masses. “Swatch was largely responsible for the revitalising the Swiss watch quartz crisis of the 70s and became a fashion icon in the 80s and 90s while the OMEGA Moonwatch is a historic and iconic watch that well, went to the moon,” said Huang. As such this collaboration hit the sweet spot in reaching a target customer base of both brands that spans across multiple age groups. It also targets a major group of customers who grew up with the Swatch brand, but grew out of them and are now in the luxury segment such as OMEGA. “For many in my age group, with the MoonSwatch, I am able to relive the joys of owning a swatch watch during my teen years while satisfying my need for luxury watch. For first time buyers, the MoonSwatch is a first taste of the Moonwatch and hopefully grows them to aspire to own the OMEGA Moonwatch at a later stage,” said Huang. Getting the right buzz Another reason the collaboration was such a huge hit was because of the way attention was hacked of two different brand fans, explained VJ Anand, managing partner of VaynerMedia APAC. Anand, who is a self-professed street wear enthusiast, said that collaboration is always a big aspect in pop culture and the sneaker world. However, collaborations in the watch industry – such as Hublot and Murakami and John Mayer with G-Shock – haven’t always created as much buzz as the one now. He said: The attention of these diverse fans coming together is what created the buzz and the strange thing is, OMEGA and Swatch aren’t the most hype brands around. “The moonwatch is a pretty iconic watch but collaborating with its sister company Swatch, and creating an entry level price point was probably a smart product and marketing idea – as much as luxury watch fans might hate it,” said Anand. Anand added that brands today have the power to create buzz and create products that consumers and fans can go crazy about. However, with that power comes the responsibility to launch it the right way and to make sure true collectors and fans get it. “Give people something fresh, new and something they want to brag about. The launch was popular because no one has ever taken a luxury watch and created and entry level version of the watch. What Swatch and OMEGA did well on this was it’s a general release not a limited edition one, so more fans and collectors will get their hands on these cool watches,” said Anand. [...]
