Rolex raises the brand bar—especially for widgets
A visual feature of the new Rolex website is so stunning in its elegance and simplicity that it sets a standard for brands on the web—and especially for widgets that wish to convey brand meaning with a single graphic device.
Brand quality expressed as graphic quality
Go to the Rolex website, let it load (Flash) and then admire the gorgeous oblique view of the Rolex GMT II as it adjusts itself to your time—and then keeps time as if it were on your own wrist. It appears uncannily real. Everything you experience is of the utmost authenticity, right down to the minute hand passing beneath the trademark Rolex magnifying lens.
Without a single word, this tour de force visual defines the Rolex brand for what it is: uncompromising quality. Rolex could have settled for less, but didn’t. It’s Rolex. It’s not just “different,” but in a class by itself.
I’ve never seen anything like this before on the web. Have you?
Widgets must rise to the level of brands
If you’re creating widgets with brand aspirations, Rolex has set the standard. Your job is to do no less, and preferably to take it to the next level. The last thing you want to do is to reduce a brand to the level of a widget. It has to be the other way around.
February 13th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Thanks for the comments about Rolex.com and thanks for linking to my site!
Cheers,
Scott
February 14th, 2007 at 7:42 am
This may be a stretch, but it reinforces what I already know - oh … I can get time someplace other than my wrist. I don’t know of anyone under 30 who uses a watch these days - the watch has been replaced by a new form of pocket watch called a mobile phone.
February 14th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
I was looking at Rolex more as a “time piece,” an analog of time, that represents time for the wearer, and thus can inhabit many dimensions. (And thus create rich brand opportunities.) The Rolex GMT model shown also means two global time zones, so there’s a geographic dimension as well. What I like about this landing page for the Rolex site is that it raises the bar for time representation by being authentic to the Rolex itself. Other watch sites seem quite prosaic in comparison.
I can’t quote any figures, but the watch market currently seems to be fairly strong, even as many potential watch-wearers keep time with only their mobile phones. I do know that the market for high-end Swiss mechanical watch movements is very tight, fully booked for 2007.