In a post to Google+ this AM, journalist Kevin Tofel asks: “Who else doesn’t think many people will buy a $1,500 Android Wear watch simply because it’s made by TAG Heuer?” His question is spot on. The timepiece maker introduced its new line of smart wristwear earlier today.
I see TAG Heuer Connected differently. The high-end brand is carried in fine jewelry stores everywhere. This watch will make Android Wear visible to millions of buyers who might never see the platform. Demographically, many of these same people might never encounter or consider purchasing Apple Watch, either.
Distribution is everything in retail: Where are the outlets? How many are there? Who is likeliest to shop them? Marketing matters as much, or more. TAG Heuer Connected advertising can further promote Android Wear and trickle down sales to smartwatches the masses can afford. Then there are the celeb ambassadors who wear the brand.
All that said, I can’t imagine a more boring product introduction than what we saw today. The live launch makes my neighbor’s poodle look like Steve Jobs when presenting her business on the front lawn. TAG Heuer compelled the poor Googler joining the stage to wear a suit! He was dressed for a funeral, which would have been more lively than the old fart brigade.
Speaking of gas, they cut cheese—Swiss, of course—to celebrate the occasion, that after giving each stage presenter a cowbell. I don’t jest. Cowbells and year-old cheese. Crackers and wine, please, so the news reporters can drown their sorrows and perhaps in drunken bliss tell the world why $1,500 TAG Heuer Connected is a bargain when Apple Watch sells for as much as $17,000.