How did Rolex do it?

[TheVTCGuy]

I was thinking about this... and am really curious to hear what the rest of the world thinks. How did Rolex do... "IT?" The name "Rolex" conjures up images of opulance, class, quality, character; even to a non-Wis. It is instantly recognizable, everyone in the civilized world has heard of Rolex and sometimes it even strikes awe... So how did Old Hans do it?

Of course Rolex is a very high-quality product, but so is Omega, so is Brietling, so is Hublot. While popular, none of those brands (or really any other, including Patek) has the recognition and respect Rolex does. I know some of you will say it's all marketing, Rolex sponsors events, hires famous people etc. Well, so do the others, maybe not as much but they still spend millions on sponsorships and the like.

Whether or not people understand us being WISes, NO ONE can deny the power the name Rolex has.

How did they do it?

[dddrees]

A combination of making high quality, attractive, durable, and great looking watches. Finally hard work, good business decisions, great marketing, and a bit of luck.

Sprinkle in some great customer service.

[Numismatist]

The folklore goes:

99% of people have heard of Rolex, only 1% could actually identify one!

[GradyPhilpott]

Originally Posted by Numismatist

The folklore goes:

99% of people have heard of Rolex, only 1% could actually identify one!

In my experience, this is absolutely true, especially when you consider that the identification is complicated by fraudulent pieces.

[jay_man2]

I think some of the credit goes to Timex. Timex is the Everyman watch, Rolex is what you aspire to. I think Rolex benefited from the name similarity, and Timex's heavy advertising in the 60s.

[mtgmt]

How did timex do it'????????????? It got run over by a truck!!!!!

[psv]

Spectacular branding, strategy and execution. A number of innovations, e.g.

- The first wristwatch with an automatically changing date on the dial (Rolex Datejust, 1945)
- The first wristwatch with an automatically changing day and date on the dial (Rolex Day-Date)
- The first wristwatch case waterproof to 100 m (330 ft) (Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner, 1953)
- The first wristwatch to show two time zones at once (Rolex GMT Master, 1954)
- The first watchmaker to earn chronometer certification for a wristwatch

And sticking to its core business!

[GradyPhilpott]

Originally Posted by psv

Spectacular branding, strategy and execution.

And sticking to its core business!

To this, I can only add genius and a continued faithfulness to an ideal.

[Michael M.]

Originally Posted by psv

Spectacular branding, strategy and execution. A number of innovations, e.g.

- The first wristwatch with an automatically changing date on the dial (Rolex Datejust, 1945)
- The first wristwatch with an automatically changing day and date on the dial (Rolex Day-Date)
- The first wristwatch case waterproof to 100 m (330 ft) (Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner, 1953)
- The first wristwatch to show two time zones at once (Rolex GMT Master, 1954)
- The first watchmaker to earn chronometer certification for a wristwatch

And sticking to its core business!

Exactly! Some great milestones

[karmatp]

Marketing.

Rolex spent 43.43 million last year in marketing and #2 was Breitling with 24million. There are many other brands out there that offer just as good if not better quality for the buck but Rolex marketing is king.

[arabesque]

simple:

went to the highest mountain
went to the deepest ocean

in short, with its achievements.

[BOA]

Originally Posted by arabesque

simple:

went to the highest mountain
went to the deepest ocean

in short, with its achievements.

This is where I was headed for my contribution to this thread. Earlier I was looking over topics in General Discussion section, and there was a thread about diving, and it just fits that it's there. I've been a subscriber to National Geographic for twenty-five years and look forward to the Rolex ads. It all ties in somehow with a Tom Swift mentality. My motor car, my watch; my boat, my watch; my rocket ship, my watch; my safari, my watch. Rolex has found a way into the psyche of adventure. Breitling has done that with flying, but Rolex has managed to do it from the top of the highest mountain and to the bottom of the deepest ocean, as arabesque posted, but I would add they've done it with everything in between. You put on a Rolex, and somewhere down deep, you're an explorer, an adventurer, a daredevil, a trailblazer... In short, you're a winner. Other top brands say you have "made it," but a Rolex says you made it doing something extraordinary, that you are making it, not to get the watch in the end, but wearing the watch while doing whatever it is that you do. Rolex is the adventure as it happens, not the reward at the end of the race.

[Megalobyte]

Originally Posted by karmatp

Marketing.

Rolex spent 43.43 million last year in marketing and #2 was Breitling with 24million. There are many other brands out there that offer just as good if not better quality for the buck but Rolex marketing is king.

Like...?

[austinnh]

Originally Posted by karmatp

Marketing.

Rolex spent 43.43 million last year in marketing and #2 was Breitling with 24million. There are many other brands out there that offer just as good if not better quality for the buck but Rolex marketing is king.

This again?

That's because Rolex is a bigger company than Breitling, so they have more money, so they spend more money.

Marketing has a part in it, yes. But statements like yours make it sound like any company that decides to spend 43.43 mil on marketing would be as revered as Rolex. And one that spent 50 mil would be even more revered. But you need a good product, too.

To address the OP. It's a lot of things. One that is probably most important...

They've delivered a consistent good product for about half a century. Omega, Breitling, Hublot have not, and no amount of marketing (or making good products in the short-term) can replace that. I'd be happy to talk about more particulars of this claim, if anyone wants to.

[rolexkiwi]

Originally Posted by psv

Spectacular branding, strategy and execution. A number of innovations, e.g.

- The first wristwatch with an automatically changing date on the dial (Rolex Datejust, 1945)
- The first wristwatch with an automatically changing day and date on the dial (Rolex Day-Date)
- The first wristwatch case waterproof to 100 m (330 ft) (Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner, 1953)
- The first wristwatch to show two time zones at once (Rolex GMT Master, 1954)
- The first watchmaker to earn chronometer certification for a wristwatch

And sticking to its core business!

Well said.

I also feel they have always shown a real quest for quality of design and performance over price. I like how unapolagetic they have been about that as well.

[chazha]

Simple...

Because of JJ.....

[aquanaut]

Top 10 brand awareness in the uk...1) Mercedes 2) Rolex....

[mjrennie]

Originally Posted by aquanaut

Top 10 brand awareness in the uk...1) Mercedes 2) Rolex....

That's a really interesting question. Not convinced about Merc any more. There was a time when Merc meant the very best. I am not so sure it still ranks up there; well known, for sure, but number 1? A few pints of beer needed to discuss it.

I think Rolex is number 1. After that, not sure. Also, we have never had a Rolex TV add in the UK. Not as far as I can recall, anyway. Weird.

[gwalker]

One word, MARKETING

[LI Matt]

Originally Posted by gwalker

One word, MARKETING

*cough*Edsel*cough*NewCoke*cough*

[therolexguy]

Originally Posted by gwalker

One word, MARKETING

EXACTLY. Hands down, advertising. If you read about the history of the company they strapped these watches on people doing amazing things (like swimming the english channel) and advertised it.

[watchf]

Right time, right place.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[Watchdog]

Brilliant advertising that made me (and many others) want to identify with it from a young age.

[Jinder]

It's a Rolex! Haha

[Mockingbird]

One of the most successful marketing teams that's ever existed.

[RanHong]

all marketing i think

[kenhiraihnl]

My take on this...Rolex invested heavily in robots and CNC machines...They mass-produce precision movements in-house to be installed in only their cases...Then they continually improve their production methods. So if you want a Rolex, you have to buy a Rolex. LOL. I'm buying a Vespa scooter w/ a $6k MSRP. Similar concept, IMHO.

[rolexsweep]

marketing and history

[dinan545bmw]

Rolex's overall success and imminent stature in the timepiece marketplace is clearly no accident. As everyone alluded to thus far, Rolex's pedigree and iconic reputation is based on a lengthy and illustrious history of proven manufacturing and engineering excellence and know-how in the art of precision timekeeping, as evidence by their impressive and varied lineup of superlative time pieces.

This, coupled with their near fanatical marketing machine and selected sponsorship of noteworthy programs and events, including sporting, music, etc, and you have yourself a perpetual (excuse the pun here!) juggernaut in the world of fine timepieces.

The name is nearly as recognizable and universal as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Apple Computer, IBM, Mercedes Benz, BMW, etc..

You must be living under a rock if you haven't at least heard of these iconic world brands.

I also recently ran across an article which summarized how the Rolex name first came into being. I thought it was pretty interesting. So I went ahead and paraphrased the key points below.

"About 103 years ago this year, Wilsdorf and Davies filed the "Rolex" brand name. With the impact of its three consonants and two vowels, the Rolex name perfectly meets all the criteria that still ensures the brand's success.

The choice of the name given by Hans Wilsdorf was actually coined while traveling aboard a double-decker powered at the time by horses, driving along Cheapside, while in London.

The name Rolex is short (just five letters long), easy to pronounce in every country and in every language, pleasing to the ear (like the tic-tock of the second hand), easy to remember and aesthetically pleasing when printed on a dial."

Sounds plenty good enough for me. And, as they often say, the rest is history. GO ROLEX!

BEST REGARDS

[Changmaisausage]

Rolex is very selective in its marketing, major events etc.

I've mentioned previouslt that i've attended watch shows/exhib's that Rolex did not even attend, why? because I dont think they need too their watches sell themselves.