An Open Letter To The Luxury Watch Industry – Help Us, Help You
There was an interesting article in the Financial Times recently which we found to be very encouraging but at the same time somewhat perplexing. The article is entitled “The blogosphere: Internet panders to watch geeks’ obsessions” and it was absolutely fantastic to see our very talented colleagues Ben Clymer, Ariel Adams and Robert-Jan Broer mentioned personally within the context of the piece. The subject matter centered on the role and importance of forums and blogs within the luxury watch industry, highlighting the fact that these outlets have become indispensable mediums through which to disseminate information to larger audiences online.
However, it seems that the key underlying criticism of these on-line editorials remains largely unchanged in the eyes of the major players in the industry: they are not written or edited by professional journalists, and therefore content quality remains an issue. The Financial Times spoke with Jerome Lambert of Jaeger-LeCoultre about this very topic, and it is clear that his personal experience with the on-line community indicates that there is still some ways to go:
“…there is a downside, and that lies with the fact that bloggers are usually not professional journalists and are therefore inclined to make mistakes, give wrong information and sometimes write about things from odd angles that are not especially beneficial – and once an incorrect statement is made or a mistake perpetuated then, even if it is subsequently corrected, the damage is done.”
Source: FT.com
His points are well founded and to a degree are indicative of the general blogosphere, however, by the same token many see this as adding authenticity to the publication. It is important to note here though that not all bloggers are completely oblivious of this fact. For example within the same article Ariel Adams seems to acknowledge that he doesn’t always get it right in terms of finishing:
“I admit there are occasions when it is a matter of quantity over quality and I have received various complaints about typographical and grammatical errors, but, generally, the comments are positive…”
Source: FT.com
Fair enough, he is only human after all.
However, he is also one of the most prolific, influential watch writers on the internet producing a consistently high volume of original content for a number of different publications in the on-line sphere. The question then for us is this: what is the luxury watch industry doing to help him become a better writer? And for that matter, what is the industry doing to help any of these bloggers become better writers?
This is not a criticism of the industry by any means, rather it is an open invitation to a discussion. How can we, as watch writers, work with you to better achieve both of our aims? It seems that Mr Lambert indeed believes this is possible, saying:
“More and more forums have professional journalists working for them and are becoming more like the traditional written press in terms of accuracy. Within the next decade, I think we will see blogs evolve in the same direction. Like it or not, they are now well and truly part of our reality.”
Source: FT.com
But will this just happen organically? So far the majority of the large brands have been incredibly reluctant to show any form of support to these blogs through the form of sponsorship or advertising, so how do they anticipate these publications will somehow be able to pay for professional journalists? Again, this is not a criticism, but an attempt to get people thinking about these issues so that they can be resolved quickly and effectively.
The Final Word
The challenges in addressing this issue will be many and varied, in large part because blogs are so highly prized by consumers for their perceived independence. Thus, advertising dollars from the big brands may not be the best solution as this could potentially tarnish these well won reputations. However, surely there are other options such as scholarships or grants, more open and direct channels of communication and a real commitment to working together, not just sending out impersonal press releases and then expecting perfectly tailored content in return.
If we can achieve this then surely everyone will benefit, right?
Category: Recommended Reading
I hardly ever read official press releases, since all they do is praise their products. The content is predicatable, the tone is dry, it lacks freshness.
A number of bloggers are professional journalists, and the stories they publish are more honest and interesting to read. There are relationships with independent writers in nearly every other industry, why should it be any different in the watch industry?
Watch makers could benefit from a collaboration; it just needs to be done right.
To Steve in regard to the discussion of the economics of watch advertising in watch focused media. While of course I agree with you in regard to the current economics, there is no real reason it must stay that way. While the demographic of people that buy luxury watches is smaller than the demographic of people that buy cars or computers… people who buy luxury watches are often of a higher income level and of course buy many other things. Therefore, that audience is interested in watches, among many other things. So I don’t think the niche nature of the content should designate a strictly niche pool of advertisers.
With watch ads finding homes in publications all over the world that have no editorial watches, I believe that clever advertisers will in turn learn more about watches, their potential buyers, and that special places exist to discuss them. Soon see should see watch media as a new places to go for highly engaged and interested consumers. We will see how things develop on that.
-Ariel-
#Jorn Werdelin – I agree with you and wanted to say that it was nice to see at least one other brand chiming in what turned out to be the hottest convo online this month so far!
Best,
J.
John is definitely right about the brands needing blogs, as opposed to the other way around.
Whatever type of writing you do, whether it is paid or unpaid, blog or magazine – it really doesn’t matter what you call it. What matters is quality, accuracy and integrity. For example, if you are a writer that is constantly making errors, especially factual errors, then maybe you should look at yourself and determine if you are going more for quantity over quality. If this is the case, then please consider reducing your work load. Raise your rates and do less articles. Why? Because your writing can make other serious writers in the same niche look bad. And, please, don’t call yourself an expert if you don’t have at least 10 years of experience and know what you are talking about in every regard of the industry. This is a difficult industry to write about, watches are complex, experts are watchmakers, high level editors, CEOs and so on…. Not somebody with three years of blogging experience who proclaims himself the expert, the best this, the best that, etc….. Get over yourself, you’re not a celebrity and most people in the industry don’t respect your arrogant and misguided behavior. Just because someone proclaims some title doesn’t make them the best.
Does the best watch blogger in the world really need to freelance with 4-6 other publications, I think not. If they were really that good, that popular, that knowledgeable and that respected – then I think they could survive off their blog alone – without the need to freelance. There are definitely bloggers out there who can survive without freelancing their life away. Those bloggers are the best of the best. And they don’t need to proclaim their superiority over and over, all across the web, they know they’re the best – and don’t need to clarify – it’s assumed.