Luxury Brand Innovation Proposal

Luxury Marketing
Name
Institution
Due Date
Luxury Marketing: Rolex
Introduction
Rolex is one of the most renowned brands in the world. The company was founded by Hans Wilsdorf, whose vision of a watch being worn on the wrist brought about immense possibilities in the world. When Wilsdorf was dreaming of a wristwatch in 1905, he foresaw the elegance and reliability of wristwatches. However, wristwatches had a major problem with precision at the time, which greatly hampered their reliability. Wilsdorf went ahead to solve the precision problem and convinced the world that his dream was indeed valid (Rolex, 2022). From the time the company was founded, Rolex has been the gold standard of wrist watches in the world, and to date, the company continues to showcase its dominance as one of the leading brands in the world. Sabanoglu (2021) notes that in 2020, Rolex maintained its leadership as the leading global luxury watch brand by generating close to $4.7 billion. Rolex’s figure was more than double its closest rival, Omega, whose turnover was approximately $1.8 billion (Sabanoglu, 2021). However, despite Rolex’s leadership in profitability, the company still performs dismally among millennials and Generation Z groups. These groups have showcased a taste for the world’s finest brands, and their willingness to spend should be something Rolex seeks to take advantage of. However, Rolex has maintained its approach of exclusivity, and though this has proved profitable for a long time, it may not be sustainable in the long run due to the changing customer attributes. Therefore, provided herein is a brand innovation proposal that showcases how Rolex can leverage strategic approaches of experiential marketing and social media to capture this budding and extravagant group of customers.
Rolex is a Luxury Brand
In its early years, Rolex was not known as a luxury brand. Reuter (2021) notes that the watch was considered a prerequisite tool for professionals. However, after Andre Heiniger took over from Wilsdorf, he brought about lasting transformation in the company. Heiniger brought the idea of luxury to the company, and managed to kill the notion that the Rolex watches were meant for professionals. First, Rolex started to adopt the exclusivity approach by developing watches that a select group of people could only buy. Secondly, Rolex decided to make their watches a little bit difficult to find. Initially, Rolex watches were readily available, and this reduced their value in the eyes of consumers. However, Reuter (2021) reports that Rolex watches are increasingly scarce, which, according to Deloitte (2021), makes them even more coveted in the world. In the Swiss Watch Industry study, Deloitte (2021) outlines the value of Rolex, scarcity, design, and technical specifications as some of the attributes that endear Rolex watches to high-end customers in the Chinese market.
Experiential Marketing
The word experiential comes from the word experience, and experiential marketing can simply be explained as a marketing strategy that aims to give customers and potential customers the experience of a product. One of the biggest challenges that companies have faced while dealing with millennials and Gen Z groups is thei...