Blancpain - Revs It Up
6 October 2009
At Baselworld 2009 Blancpain debuted a new line of timepieces called the L-evolution that represented a departure for the brand thus far chiefly at home in the arena of elegant watches. "Evolution," in fact, very aptly describes its only other sports watch line aside from the 50 Fathoms—and the astute observer will have noticed that at Basel this year, Blancpain only introduced new timepieces from these two sporty lines.
Marc A. Hayek (right) in Le Castellet, 4 October 2009
New is also the cooperative marketing activity with the Lamborghini Super Trofeo racing series, and this is no coincidence. During the final race at the Paul Ricard racetrack in Le Castellet over the past weekend, Hayek explained the brand's shift in focus as mirroring the consumer's contemporary view of luxury: the best in quality packaged in a sporty, casual way. In other words, Roberto Cavalli jeans instead of Armani suits and ties.
Hayek himself is perhaps the best example: born into a prominent family—he is the grandson of Swatch Group co-founder Nicolas G. Hayek—his interests certainly coincide with those of his projected target group where dynamic, high-tech emotions are a part of his daily world.
This is not the watch industry's first marketing strategy born of a brand leader's own passions, and Hayek's love of mobile machinery has him understanding the similarities between the two forms of mechanics. He reiterates, however, that it is too easy to simply put a logo on a dial, and instead prefers to live his own marketing and have his customers take part.
Hayek's "modern feel for luxury" culminated in a second place series finish for Hayek and pro-am partner Peter Kox and their Lamborghini emblazoned with the number 24 and a larger-than-life stylization of a Blancpain timepiece. Blancpain's sponsorship of the high-speed monobrand racing series is slated to run three years, which is a fitting amount of time for the Le Brassus-based watchmaker to convey the revved up feel of its new direction. Hayek also promises more sporty mechanics for the near future, particularly from the L-evolution line, which was created to take the 50 Fathoms concept a step further.