‘BAUME & MERCIER & ME’ ADS ENTER SECOND YEAR
Keep an eye out for heavy consumer advertising from Baume & Mercier during the holiday season.
Continuing its “Baume & Mercier & Me” campaign that debuted last year, the company’s efforts to reach a somewhat younger consumer, especially fashion-aware women, is on track, says Steven Kaiser, president of David G. Steven Inc., New York City, which distributes the brand in the U.S. The current campaign is part of a three-year marketing plan that will conclude next year.
Fully half of this year’s ads feature the brand’s new Linea line of women’s 18k gold watches, many of which will have a double row of diamonds on the bezel. This month and next, Linea ads will run in issues of Architectural Digest, Elle, Town & Country, Gourmet, House & Garden, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Southern Accents and W.
The focus on Linea has widened Baume & Mercier’s appeal beyond its well-known Hampton, Riviera and Malibu lines, which are bought primarily by or for men, though women’s versions are available also. “This is the first time we have had a full line of all-ladies’ watches, and it has strengthened our name among women watch buyers,” says Steven Jager, vice president of merchandising.
Men’s Riviera and Hampton watches each will be featured in one-quarter of the remainder of this year’s ads. These ads can be seen in Architectural Digest, Departures, Forbes, GQ, House & Garden, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal and Town & Country.
The three-year campaign, the largest in the company’s history, has paid off already. “Last year’s results brought us double-digit increases in sales,” says Kaiser. “We have reinvested those dollars right back into the second year of our program.”
CHRISTIE’S PROMOTES IMAGE THROUGH ADS
It’s stylish, it’s youthful and it’s all about art.
That’s what Christie’s hopes readers will see in its new global marketing campaign, designed to update the auction house’s old-fashioned image and attract younger buyers, says a report published in Advertising Age in September.
Full-page and spread advertisements appeared in the October issues of Architectural Digest, Town & Country, Vanity Fair, W, Worth and other art-conscious magazines around the world.
The ads use the word “art” in brightly colored letters sitting boldly in the middle of a white page beside photographs of art, furniture and jewelry. One ad in the October Town & Country, for example, featured a suite of diamond and cabochon emerald, amethyst and turquoise jewelry by Bulgari from the collection of Lyn Revson, which was auctioned at Christie’s New York sale of Magnificent Jewels in October.
The ads use the global concept of art to communicate to Christie’s growing international markets, advertising representatives told Advertising Age.
The simple use of the word “art” reaches out to people in Asian and other markets who do not speak English as a first language or who don’t understand Christie’s presence in art sales. Ad representatives also hope the clean, stylish look of the ads will reach out to younger generations, the report said.
ZALE POSTS EARNINGS GAIN
It was a very good year for Zale Corp. The nation’s largest specialty retailer of fine jewelry announced a 34% increase in net earnings, not counting unusual and extraordinary items, for the fiscal year ended July 31.
Net earnings totaled $42.1 million, up from $31.5 million. That was before the subtraction of expenses related to Zale’s remaining reorganization costs and a loss on early retirement of debt. Net sales rose 9.8% to $1,137.4 million, and comparable- store sales grew 9.9%.
For the fourth quarter alone, Zale reported net earnings of $12,000, compared with a loss of $9.1 million in the previous fiscal year. Net sales in the quarter grew 18% to $248.9 million, and comparable-store sales rose 14.6%.
“The financial results of the past year reflect the progress that has been made during the back-to-basics phase of our repositioning effort,” said Robert J. DeNicola, chairman and chief executive officer. “With the company now on solid footing, we are ready to go beyond the basics and to enter a new phase by capitalizing on growth opportunities in the coming years.”
Zale Corp. operates about 1,200 retail jewelry outlets, including stores and leased departments in the U.S., Guam and Puerto Rico.The stores include Zales Jewelers, Gordon’s Jewelers, Bailey Banks & Biddle and Corrigan’s.
CARTIER RECEIVES AWARD; HELPS RAISE CHARITY FUNDS
Cartier Inc. received the 1996 Business in the Arts Award for Commitment presented by the Business Community for the Arts and Forbes magazine, both based in New York City.
The award was presented aboard the Forbes yacht Oct. 1 in New York City. Presenting the award were violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Jacques D’Ambrose, founder of the National Dance Institute. Cartier became involved with the arts more than a decade ago. Today, it has extensive partnerships with a variety of visual and performing arts organizations in 21 cities in the U.S.
In related news, Cartier helped Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry to raise $40,000 for Baton Rouge Green, a non-profit organization formed to promote the beautification of Baton Rouge, La.
Lee Michaels held its annual Spring Gala at Louisiana State University and held a silent auction to raise the money. The centerpiece of the gala was a large display of the Cartier International Jeweled Watch Collection, complete with red-suited Cartier pages. A pair of steel-and-18k-gold Cartier Panther watches was donated for the raffle prize.
TAG HEUER PARTNERS WITH DESIGNERS
At this year’s Men’s Shows, the annual fashion designer gathering in July in New York City, sponsor TAG Heuer presented a one-of-a-kind collection of men’s accessories.
The Swiss-based sports watch company enlisted the expertise of six top fashion designers to create a grouping of ties, belts, cellular phone cases, shoelaces and hats — all paired with TAG Heuer watches. The result: an exhibit called “The New Simplicity” was on display for the full week of the shows. The designers involved were Kate Spade, Cynthia Rowley, Richard Tyler, Gene Meyer, Richard Bengtsson and Edward Pavlick.
The collaboration with top designers is in its second year and is part of an overall marketing philosophy. “By partnering with the fashion community rather than buying into flat sponsorships — in much the same way that we have partnered with the sports world — we hope to communicate the authenticity that has always been the hallmark of the TAG Heuer brand,” says Fred Reffsin, president of TAG Heuer USA. The designers involved in the exhibit can be seen wearing TAG Heuer watches in special advertisements that appeared in the September issues of Vanity Fair, GQ and Vogue.
SUPPLIERS ON THE GROW
Wedding ring manufacturer Novell Enterprises moved its headquarters, showroom and manufacturing plant to a 12,000-sq.-ft. facility at: 129 Chestnut St., Roselle, N.J. 07203; (888) NOVELL-1 or (908)2 45-0700.
The warehousing and customer service functions of Royal Copenhagen U.S. have been combined with those of Orrefors Kosta Boda in Berlin, N.J. The sales and marketing of the two tabletop companies will remain separate, says Ana Maria McGinnis, president of Royal Copenhagen U.S., White Plains, N.Y.