Press release

IC-Agency provides exclusive coverage of the Internet Virtual Watch Fair

Online research findings reveal surprising trends and strategic opportunities

It’s that Baselworld time of the year and Internet marketing and research specialist IC-Agency is at it again.   Their annual multibrand online comparative study, the WorldWatchReport (WWR), is fresh off the press, even bigger and better than last year.  Covering the US and 4 key European export markets, this year’s edition analyses over 25 million online searches with historical benchmarking for 2005 to 2004 values.  Twelve luxury watch brands: Breitling, Bulgari, Cartier, Chopard, Ebel, Girard-Perregaux, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, Omega, Patek Philippe, Rolex and Tag Heuer are weighed to see how they measure up post-Basel in the ongoing “Internet Virtual Watch Fair.”

Number of searches, market share, monthly search evolution and search intention typology are quantified and illustrated in a series of graphs and charts that expose each brands strengths and weaknesses in each market.  Moreover, the study reveals model-specific trends and customer recall for each brand, and the replica phenomenon is shown to infect even more brands than before.

Here are just some of the key findings from the report:

• The top 5 brands both in the US and Europe are Rolex, Tag Heuer, Omega, Cartier and Breitling.  These 5 alone account for almost 90% of the total number of Internet searches on all 12 brands in the two regions combine.
• 7 of the 12 brands studied derive the highest volume of online European searches from the Italian market. The UK marks a close second place in this ranking, while France is least active even for Cartier.
• There is a ratio of 2.68 searches in the US for every single search in Europe, except for Jaeger-LeCoultre whose number of US searches was inferior to those in all four European markets combined.
• Rolex dominates with over 38% of the total number of model-specific searches for all 12 brands combined.
• Germany, the UK and Italy all saw relative increases of more than 55% over the number of 2004 searches in the last four months of the year.
• Of the top 5 ranked brands, Tag Heuer (+64%) and Cartier (+22%) have the most rapidly growing number of replica searches
• Less mediatized brands such as Girard Perregaux are experiencing a dramatic rise in the number of replica searches (+665%) while others are actually enjoying a slight regression of this phenomenon, like Chopard  (-15%) and even Rolex (-18%)

“Online research like the WWR provides timely observations which can be tracked quickly and at a fraction of the cost of traditional market research.  Firms can rapidly benchmark performance, monitor consumer preferences and access unbiased reactions to new models and product lines”, comments David Sadigh, Associate Partner at IC-Agency. 

He adds, “With the dramatic increase in broadband connections in China, Russia and India, it is now more vital than ever for brands to base strategic marketing decisions on real, measured online consumer demand.  Exploitation of web analytics will prove to be the most pivotal factor in revenue growth and brand protection in the coming years.”

To obtain your copy of the WorldWatchReport or a tailor-made version for any market or brand, visit www.worldwatchreport.com .