μεσα απο την συνεντευξη αυτη ,προσωπικα θα κρατησω αυτο το σημειο,οπου φαινεται ποσο μεγαλη ειναι πλεον η δυναμη των φορουμ.....ακους?
για να τρεξουν στα φορουμ και στα blogs,μαλλον καταλαβαν οτι εκαναν μεγαλη βλακεια
The fact that JC Babin has 7 posts in the last 24 hours on the Watchuseek thread should tell us all something about how TAG Heuer views this situation. Although I give him credit for confronting the situation head-on, it’s got to be somewhat embarrasing for the CEO of TAG Heuer to have to go onto Watchuseek and register his own new account and defend his Company’s actions. TAG Heuer Shoots Itself In the Foot on TAG Heuer Caliber 1887 Launch
by Kyle S. on December 08, 2009 retweet 20 Share TAG’s Credibility Under Heavy Fire from Watch Enthusiasts – CEO Takes to the Web to Defend – Really? Doth TAG Heuer Protest Too Much?
You know there’s a problem when the CEO of a global watch brand is forced to defend his company’s actions by posting on watch forums and commenting on watch blogs. Such is the situation now unfolding at TAG Heuer, where CEO J.C. Babin’s remarks can be seen on watch blogs such as Calibre 11 and watch forums such as Watchuseek – as he defends what now appears to be overly aggressive marketing by TAG Heuer for the launch of its new, ahem, “designed 100% in-house” Caliber 1887. (side note: there was probably some action/discussion over at another watch forum initials “T.Z.” as well, but as I’m sure all dissent has been thoroughly squelched by the Dictators who masquerade as “Moderators” over there I won’t give them the dignity of a mention; of course this also a topic of discussion for another time).
So here’s the quick run-down:
on December 2, TAG Heuer in great fanfare announced the launch of a new Caliber, the Caliber 1887. I admit – I was excited. The press release unequivocally states “The Calibre 1887 is the fifth movement designed 100% in-house by TAG Heuer, joining…” (my emphasis added). And therein lies the predicament that TAG Heuer has gotten itself in to. A quick bit of reading of the TAG Heuer blogs and watch forums indicate that the problem is this – TAG Heuer
did NOT 100% design this movement in house. People called TAG out on it, and now TAG is on the defensive. But in fact the CEO has proven his critics correct, in my view – as confirmed in his own words – here are a couple excerpts of JC Babin’s comments on the aforementioned Calibre 11 (again, my empahsis added):
“Hi, I’m J.C. Babin the CEO of TAG Heuer, and YES, the new Caliber 1887 is based on a SII (Seiko Instruments Inc.)TC78 platform developped and patented in 1997 (filing) and eversince produced in very limited quantities, apparently for Junghans and Seiko watches in Japan. STOP – there you have it, he admits the is based on a Seiko Instruments Inc. TC78 platform. Which apparently not only was patented by went into production.
“….The caliber we propose and announced last week in London is a major evolution of this platform even though I aknowledge that the overall construction may look similar at first glance.
However, the TAG Heuer is much different in terms of components, size and eventually performances….”STOP – again we see – the Caliber 1887 is an evolution (major or minor, it matters not) of a pre-existing platform. Babin goes on to state that “I would therefore qualify that movement as really in-house and manufactured by TAG Heuer even though, yes, the original IP has been acquired from SII.” Sure, I suppose it does “qualify” as in-house but the obvious reality is that is was not 100% designed in house. Period end of story.
Was Credit Given Where Credit Was Due?
In a “Q&A with Jean-Christophe Babin” document that TAG Heuer also released, question # 4 reads as follows:
4- What is the origin of the movement? When did the project start?
Back in January 2006, we started looking at every mechanical chronograph on the market, and none made the grade in terms of our criteria — high-volume production, unbeatable reliability, easy maintenance and reasonable manufacturing cost. So we set out to make our own, and three years later came up with a beauty.The turnaround time for a new movement —
from first draft to final product — is between 3 and 5 years. The Calibre 1887 is at the front end of the timeframe. But we didn’t rush anything, we took our time, we didn’t make any compromises. When it was completely ready, we launched. As always, the number one priority was to produce the best possible product.
Yup – that’s right – this beauty was all TAG all day long. Great job – conceived of it, drafted it, and brought it to market in remarkable time. Aye.
So, you might ask…..
Why are you are making a big deal out of nothing? The fact that JC Babin has 7 posts in the last 24 hours on the Watchuseek thread should tell us all something about how TAG Heuer views this situation.
Although I give him credit for confronting the situation head-on, it’s got to be somewhat embarrasing for the CEO of TAG Heuer to have to go onto Watchuseek and register his own new account and defend his Company’s actions. Not only that but he made 7 posts today alone on WUS. As a small aside, I also happen to find a small bit of irony in this situation, which is that not only is TAG Heuer’s Press/Media department’s unwilling to reply to any of my requests for comment on things little ‘ole things like this (Has TAG Heuer Lost its Mind?) and this (TAG Heuer Meridiist is Dead On Arrival), but they also seem to leave the big issues to others as well. In this case the CEO himself. What do you people do?
The Caliber 1887 is a fantastic accomplishment – What’s the big deal? Indeed. The mistake here is not one of technical ambitions, nor technical prowess, nor technical innovation – these people all did their job, and they did it well. It is a mistake of marketing and being true to your brand and your customers. This is a Public Relations problem, pure and simple.
Who’s at fault? Hard to say, really, and who really cares. Although we see that JC Babin is stepping up as captain of his ship to take the heat, you can take it to the bank that things are not pretty behind closed doors at TAG Heuer. Allow me to ask one innocent question –
how did the TAG Heuer press and or marketing department think they could get away with putting out such a bold statement in a press release? I gotta say that it is ambitious and aggressive to make such a bold statement and think you can get away with it. Whether ignorance or hubris – is there a better case to plead?
What’s the bottom line? If I had to guess, some heads may roll back at TAG Heuer, but the brand will most surely come out of this just fine because they have the marketing dollars to overcome it and it is most likely that a the large majority of TAG’s consumers will never catch wind nor even care about the origins of the design of the Caliber 1887 (they may even ask “What’s a Caliber?”). Hey, don’t get me wrong –
I was pretty excited to see the Caliber 1887 coming from TAG, as I am a TAG Heuer fan and owner myself. But there’s no need to spin it into something that it isn’t – and that’s what all this big brouhaha is all about, sadly.Oh, and one last thing – watch brands are wise to take note the power of the Internet and “social media” in bringing this story about – it’s time for many of you to re-think how you communicate and position yourselves vis-a-vis the Internet – time to learn to live in this brave new world. 
πηγη
perpetuelle
