Movado Bets on Digital Engagement for Holiday Campaign Strategy
Movado is rethinking its approach to holiday campaigns. The watchmaker and jewelry brand on Thursday unveiled “Always in Motion,” a campaign featuring high-level professionals with niche followings, like Peloton instructor Alex Toussaint and fashion influencer Jessica Wang.
The goal, as chairman and chief executive officer Efraim Grinberg said, is to speak directly with a new generation of customers who are tapped into the digital world and eagerly listen to the diverse cast of influencers that Movado has tapped for the campaign.
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In the past, Movado has used celebrities including Kerry Washington, Lily Collins and Amanda Seyfried for its campaigns. But Grinberg observed wider shifts in culture and thought it was time for a change.
“It was really about coming out of the pandemic and making a return to life. Movado stands for ‘always in motion’ in Esperanto and we wanted to speak to the motion and traffic in the world, now that it’s buzzing. It was about finding people who are at the top of their game but are still very relatable to consumers. The world has obviously changed to more of a digital and social space where we can relate to these people on a more one-on-one basis. It doesn’t mean we won’t have celebrities in the future though,” he said.
The full campaign cast list includes Wang and Toussant alongside Olympic gold medal skier Alex Hall, DJ and philanthropist Amrit Sidhu, X Games skateboarder Alex Midler, hip-hop artist T-Shyne, model and actress Khadijha Red Thunder and ceramicist Ana Corrigan.
Each participant was photographed by frequent Movado collaborator Alexi Lubomirski. There is also video footage taken at Spring Studios. The campaign will appear on billboards and in digital media spheres. Movado has also planned a Times Square billboard takeover from Monday through Dec. 18.
Movado looked at each participant’s rate of engagement as a means to scale their influence. “It’s really about bringing awareness to a level of followers on a more intimate basis,” Grinberg said. “We still have big TV campaigns and big commercials but this is about reaching consumers on a more connected and intimate level. They were specifically chosen, not because they have a mega following, but because they have a significant level of engagement for the size following they have.”
Aside from its holiday campaign, Movado is also betting big on its new fully automatic Alta collection of watches. “The chronograph is taken from our Movado archive and updated to today. It may have a ceramic bezel but the movements are really special and customized to come from Movado heritage. They retail at about $4,000, so it’s still about offering great value to consumers but at the same time telling a story of innovation, heritage and authenticity,” Grinberg said.
