Hype

Amazing!  You've hit the nail on the head.  Young people have probably never in a million years heard of Omega, and if they had, the only thing they know about it is, "That's something that old people wear."  

Actually, now that I think about it...  isn't @coaxial_thamuel like the youngest person on this forum?  He's young enough to be my son!  How in the world is it that he's into watches?  Hey, this is a hobby for us old people!  And get off my lawn!

@Omeganut we can all Thank Apple for making the general public ‘watch literate’ (Biver’s words, not mine). If people had never worn a watch on their wrist before why would they start at all? They don’t need one for telling the time. And they can be expensive - yes even a £50 Casio can be considered expensive. It’s just how we are either raised or the society that we are subjected to, that determines what we are or aren’t into. Take a bow, my Mum and Dad!

spot on, sir. it goes to show that Swatch still has a strong pulse on the mass market, and on the other hand, Omega wisely tapped into this market to expand its customer base. offering a collab entry level chronograph quartz was the best way to go. for sure this was well planned in advance to also perfectly dovetail on the interest generated by the Bond film.   

It'll be very interesting to see if this interest in watches lasts, or if the younger market will just go back to buying limited trainers and t-shirts at the usual drops after today. Hope I'm wrong. I hope that people wear and enjoy these watches and it sparks a longer lasting enjoyment. 🙏

The Nintendo comparison is very good right out of their playbook. I don't like those Marketing tactics but they sure seem to work. Swatch and Omega will have a very profitable quarter at the very least. 

Yeah personally was never an Omega enthusiast, until at this price point I was like yeah just get one to have fun. And then obviously didn’t get one today, and I’m now looking at the Snoopy Speedy which obviously is out of my budget. 😓

I hope it works for them. It is interesting to see them go with this marketing strategy. Other brands must be watching to see how this all plays out too

The interest may not last but if they put a watch on the wrists of people who have never worn one then they’ve succeeded, surely? Those people will know what it’s like. There was close to a 1000 (or more in each queue in London). Times that number for the Swatch shops around the world. If 1% of those people in the queue (who don’t normally wear watches) started to become aware of the brand or started buying watches (not necessarily Omega or Swatch) then the whole industry wins. It’s still an ‘if’ but judging by the numbers, there’s more chance of it happening than this time last week.

We’re all subjected to marketing tactics whether we see them all not. It’s just how business has been done since people started trading with each other. If they can get their production/distribution numbers up then you’re right - at the very least a profitable quarter but they have to think bigger than that with a campaign like this. Converting non watch people into watch people has to be the bigger profit for them and the industry as a whole

@thewatchpanther wow - that’s hell of a jump! What made you look at the Snoopy? Just from the MoonSwatch interest?

Naaaah brah.  Theres'a 14 year old around here somewhere.  Hmmmm.... Omega... Oh yeah I've heard of that!  That's that streetwear brand that collabed with Swatch right?  Yeah not sure what it is but my boys Donkey Dan and Squee said if we wait in this loooooong line we can get one and sell it to some boomer for $5K!

In all seriousness, my poor girlfriend went all the way across town to procure a Venus and Uranus (hehe) as anniversary gifts for the both of us.  We're really hoping that @Chunghauphoto is not only right in that they'll keep the injection moulding machines running for as long as we're ready to buy one, but more than that other non watch people will finally give Omega a good look.  When they day comes that I can finally walk out of a boutique with a Globemaster for me and a Ploprof for @coaxial_katie , I will die a little inside if the first words I hear from a peer are "oh is that a Rolex?"  I'll be very curious to see what the lines look like on Wednesday versus today, that will be a good indicator of what the true nature of interest is.

@coaxial_thamuel sorry to hear you couldn’t get your watches to help celebrate your anniversary. We’ll definitely all get the ones we want eventually. May take days, weeks or even months but it’ll happen. Most of us don’t need it right away.

BTW If a peer asks you if your GM or Ploprof is a Rolex, they’re not your peer…😉

 Not So Obvious Watches had a great video analyzing this whole situation, and made a similar point. Swatch and Omega (or maybe Omega was dragged into it kicking and screaming) are playing the long game. The kid who gets this watch for a couple hundred bucks will remember it when they're old enough to get the several thousand dollar version. If the grups don't spoil it by making it unobtainium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9euR73HAqxI

BTW, how much is this like the CasiOak? I wasn't paying attention at the time. They were hard to get and trading above retail for a couple of years.

Truer words have never been spoken 🤣🤣🤣

Agree 100%. The upside for Omega brand in the short term is huge. Let’s see long term…Just think that if they wanted to do it properly like apple, nike or others when they make a world launch, it would be better to get their act together. They should have stock for people that got in line to get the thing, and put enough staff to organize, work and sell like the apple stores do. I mean, the marketing effect would be better, and customers would be happier, and not the mess that we see. Now they have a lot of people that were there in line (some were actually crowds, not even organized lines) just to hear “sorry we only had 100 watches”. Come on guys?! That’s ridiculous. Also, why not sell online for later delivery? And restricting sales to only a few stores seems to be an unnecessary marketing stunt. The stores would be full anyway, and probably they would capitalize more by having a better launch operational capability. They would also be able to market “sold several millions in the 1st day”. Now is “sorry, we didn’t sell more because our operations team is incompetent and we did not prepare properly“.

Anyway, I will wait. It looks nice, but not really great to go through the stress. And also agree that if you want one, eventually you will get one. There are swatch stores everywhere. Btw i don’t like the 1st unboxing videos that I am seeing on YT, with items with hands not aligned and qc issues, maybe the next batches will have corrections. 

You are anecdotal proof of my theory that the MoonSwatch would lead people to the Omega door.

@wilfried Didn’t the cigarette companies make cigarette sweets too?? The point is this type of marketing works. How they get there and if they should do it is another matter entirely. If the groups do make it Unobtainium then it simply means that this watch won’t be for me anymore. No harm, no foul - I’ll simply move onto to the next one (and there is ALWAYS the next one!)
I don’t think they’ll trade anything near retail after this week has passed.

@Chiefofthewatch I have a suspicion that the queues played out exactly how they had planned. As many people taking videos and photos would please their Advertising department no end. You’re right - each store knew exactly what they had in store and yet let the queue grow to several hundred/thousand. The London stores are tiny and it blows my mind that people thought they had enough stock in that tiny area!

I thought the hands were misaligned on the vids I saw too! No one mentioned it though!

I am not sure that we will be able to get the one we want (moon in my case) in the upcoming time.
My feeling is that the online store will be sold out almost immediately after the drop every time.

Hope I am wrong. Godspeed to all of us.

@R16013 That would be my first choice too. It’ll be fine - yeah sure it’ll be sold out in the next couple of drops but if we get one; yay! If not: oh well, onto the next one!

I can’t believe they won’t be available within the next 6 months - it’ll happen!

your optimism is great :)

This was the exact reaction that the Swatch group wanted and by your observations, it seems to have had some impact downstream with Omega itself. Those that say this has devalued Omega's brand or sullied the Speedmaster's reputation are either gatekeeping or need to move out of the watch collector bubble, even for just a moment.

I have always felt so awkward being in the omega boutique by myself with only the employees to keep me company. I truly believe this is a turning point in omega history and we will see some more love for the brand in the near future!

With all of this hype I realized that I had no idea what Swatch was doing as a brand. I haven't worn a Swatch in over 30 years.  I went to their website. I saw a watch or two that I would consider owning. Both brands should have a downstream bump.

I hope it brings more people into watches. It means more people will educated and understand why these ‘unnecessary’ items exist. 

I dont quite understand devaluing sentiments, personally. Putting this watch out doesn’t mean it didn’t go to the moon anymore! For me, it means there’s Speedmaster if you want to spend under £200, £2000, £5000, £10k, £20k, or £50k+! There’s a Speedmaster for you if you want one and if an a member of an elitist club doesn’t want you to have one then that’s their problem not yours or Omega’s

@thorhodes its awful having all those eyes following you around and you’re suddenly aware of the noise of your footsteps! I take the opposite approach now and make an effort to be ‘noisy’ by breezing in and saying ‘Hello’ to anyone I make eye contact with. Breaks the ice a little. I do the opposite in stores that are busy (unless I need to be served!). 

@Aurelian wow! Had you outgrown them on your watch collecting journey or they just didnt appeal to you?

Were you surprised by what you saw on their website?

Well said, that’s good retail for you. I won’t be getting one, but I love the look of it.