Seriously! I can't get over how big the box is! I thought the box for the "regular" IWC watches such as the Port Chrono was a very decent size. The box for the Port Auto is actually a little ridiculous! You could easily fit 3 watches in there! Actually, I am going to try and make a new insert that will allow me to do just that. Voila! Instant watch case!!
Anyway, any theories on why the Port Auto box is so big would be greatly appreciated....perplexed in California!
All watchboxes are too big. This is just ...
another variation on the theme.
The bigger the prize of the watch...
the bigger the box. As a collector of watches I have asked last summer in the forum, whether the members like those boxes or whether they prefer a small travel box. The comments were 50 % to 50 %. I personally stack those boxes and they take a lot of space. I would like to have a possibility to select between a travel box or the wooden big box.
Urs
Silly answer
Room to keep a few celebratory cigars?
Even more silly answer :-)
If you become addicted to these watches and you buy too many, you might have to sell your house and live in the watch boxes :-)
A combination of big outer box and travel case insert might be a good idea.
Kind regards,
Clemens
Its about the feeling of the purchase
and the aesthetics of how it looks and the image it communicates, I presume. Size sometimes matters and this appears to the be trend for IWC watches for 2008..and I presume fits into the overall purchase impact-feeling to the customer that IWC which to convey. Carrying this heavy box in a nice IWC bag down the street after purchasing and feeling good.
The typical IWC customer if I recall correctly owns
i agree with andrew...
big boxes add to the "presence" of the moment. i like them.
on the port auto - i would wait until next year as i have a sneaky feeling that IWC is going to slightly alter that watch. i can't see the price going up too much as it is their entry level portuguese and it gets you hooked on the others.
having said that i know exactly how you feel. it's a must have thing and it eats you up.
stephen
I still believe it is a marketing ploy...
the bigger the box the more significant the purchase. But it is like wrapping paper except you don't throw it away.
Of course its marketing... Kotler Ps
Any student of the ABC of marketing should know the Kotlers Ps
Product ... and the Portuguese (oops, another P) doesn't get much better.
Price ... don't want to go too high or, even worse, too low.
Packaging ... does the Portuguese still come in a scaled down timber coffin?
Promotion ... buy now while stocks last!
Place ... actually Professor Kotler meant distribution but that doesn't begin with a P. But there's no better place to buy an IWC than a boutique. Put all those togaether and you have great marketing.
Richemont results out today. Sales up 10% but some impact of downturn seen in October despite my purchase of a Portofino.
Have a good weekend!
yep but this forum is marketing too...
and we all love it.
Channels, oops Pannels
One of the marketing concepts that sticked to my mind was channels. I guess Kotler writes about it too, I don't have his book here at work. Because of the P's: pannels? Quite cute, I think, and better than Porum.
Kind regards,
Paul, enjoying VC Portuguese (happily not Chortuguese or Fortuguese)
try Phorum.....(nt)
But it doesn't feel like marketing. V clever.
But some marketing is just fluff...
and other marketing actually provides value. The forum provides real value. The box is nice for a few moments and then graces my closet forever, unless I sell it, which is unlikely. Of course, if I do sell, it helps to have the box as somehow this confers authentication to the sale.
Stephen, you have enticed me...
what kind of changes do you think IWC will do to the Port Auto?
I cant imagine another movement change. Do you suspect more of a cosmetic change?
I know its marketing but....
actually strategic marketing is part of my job but I actually feel the size of the box is a bit ridiculous. I personally like the look and feel of the "small" boxes that come with the Port Chrono. At some point, it goes beyond marketing and the consumer just thinks its silly. Dont get me wrong, I love my Port Auto and of course I greatly respect IWC but someone needs to re-think the box. I mean if the size of the box served some sort of purpose it would make more sense. Perhaps add some cutouts for additional straps, etc. But as it is, all the extra space is wasted even in the sense of perception, which is all marketing is. Do I think having a nice, solid box adds to the buying and owning experience of an expensive watch? YES! But there is a limit to the addage, BIgger is Better and I think the Port Auto box greatly passes this limit....
I am not sure it is marketing
In itself the box doesn't help to sell the watch: for most people the box comes as a surprise. It is more so that it adds to the feeling during the selling/buying process. You don't buy just a watch, you buy a valuable timepiece, something luxurious, something important in your life. The box just shows that. I agree with Andrew, that walking down the street with that nice AD bag with that beautiful box in it, gives you an exciting feeling. And some anxiety too, so I almost immediately repack the whole thing in a huge bag, after which it looks like some luggage of a student coming home with his dirty laundry. I calm down in the hotel, where the ticking beauty is admired and inspected for the first time in any possible detail, The box too, and I don't hate it at all.
As written by me before, you only need excellent protection for the watch, and space for the watch and the paperwork. But it simply is not enough.
Kind regards,
Paul, wearing beautiful VC Portuguese (and I really don't even remember how the box looked like)
I once suggested....
.. on the link below.
Cheers from the cellar