Big brand breakdown: Rolex

We’re doin’ something different today...

This week, I teamed up with fellow marketer, entrepreneur, and category designer John Rougeux to bring you a breakdown of Rolex’s iconic brand.

Today’s newsletter is a shortened version with some additional storytelling from yours truly. I recommend checking out the original and full article here.

And to see more of John’s content, follow him on LinkedIn and subscribe to his newsletter for stories and strategies behind brands that became the only obvious choice.

Inside today’s episode:

• Why Rolex is more than a watch

• How Rolex built a legendary brand - so you can do the same

• Video: Erica Schneider’s journey from 9-5 to entrepreneur

• Tech stack: 3 tools I use, love, and highly recommend

TOGETHER WITH FATHOM

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If you wanna try it out, I negotiated so all my subscribers get Fathom Premium FREE for 3 months.

(That’s the version I use every day).

My grandpa was born into poverty.

He grew up in “the rough” part of Los Angeles as one of seven siblings.

He only ate meat once per week, grew up sleeping on the floor of their one-bedroom house, and patched his shoes with cardboard during the winter because that’s all they could afford.

These stories taught me resilience and gratitude. And I didn’t realize it then, but they would play a critical role in shaping who I am today.

Grandpa Chuck died from Alzheimer’s 6 years ago this month.

It still hurts to think about it. He was my best friend and the father figure I desperately needed as a child.

I admired him for many reasons. A big one was that he left the world with much more than he entered it: a thriving family, college-educated grandkids, a two-story home, and three Rolex watches.

He was dealt a shit hand, but he didn’t let that stop him.

By many accounts, he “made it.”

One of those accounts were those Rolexes.

Despite being "dirt poor” most of his life, he purchased three Rolex watches.

One he wore every day. The other two he put away.

He always told me and my two younger siblings that when he passed, they’d be ours.

A few months after he passed away, I got a second wave of bad news.

“You did… what??”

My grandmother was embarrassed to tell me. She explained that she’d fallen behind on bills after he passed, and she pawned the watches to a local pawn shop.

I felt sick.

I remember losing my breath.

Time stopped.

(No pun intended.)

I wasn’t upset that my one (and only) piece of inheritance disappeared.

Money is money.

I was heartbroken that the tangible piece of Grandpa’s legacy was gone.

So I did something drastic. And it’s defined me to this day.

The next day I went to the bank and withdrew every dollar I had - minus next month’s rent.

I borrowed my girlfriend’s car, drove 431 miles to that pawn shop, and bought all three watches back.

I kept the one my grandpa wore and gave the other two back to my grandma.

I’d never been more proud. Or scared.

I was 23 years old with a $10,000+ watch, and zero money for groceries.

But it wasn’t just a watch.

It was his legacy.

Specifically, a symbol of excellence.

And I’d kept it alive.

I’m very aware that I’m not the only guy with a “grandfather watch” story.

But Rolex isn’t just sentimental to me because of Grandpa Chuck.

They’ve built a brand that goes MUCH deeper than their product.

They’ve built a legendary brand that makes you aspire to reach your potential. 

That’s what John and I wrote about this week.

So with your permission, let’s segue to…

How Rolex built a lasting, iconic, and lucrative brand — so you can do the same

Good brands have a clear identity.

Great brands have a beloved identity.

Legendary brands become part of your identity.

(Read that again.)

Grandpa Chuck easily could have bought, worn, and given me a Timex.

But that would have just been something he wore.

His Rolex reflected something he became.

And that’s the center of Rolex’s brand strategy.

(PS: The tone is going to change from here out because we’re moving from DReed storytelling to co-authored research and marketing lessons with my main man Johnny R.)

Building a Brand Starts with a POV

Let’s start with Rolex’s POV.

(I’ve talked about POVs a lot lately. And for good reason.)

One approach for a POV is a product-based one.

You see brands like Apple do this all the time. In the late 90s, Apple noticed that consumer PCs weren’t very good at the Internet, so they launched the iMac (the “Internet” Macintosh). From a product perspective, it was categorically different from other products–you could visibly see how its screen, memory, ports, etc. put it in a new product class.

But that’s not the case with Rolex.

Owning a Rolex Means Valuing Excellence

Rolex’s POV is based on the idea of excellence.

More specifically, that you (as the customer) both appreciate and deserve excellence. We believe Rolex has a specific definition of excellence:

• Excellence means not over-engineering a solution

• Excellence means taking charge, setting your own path

• Excellence means pursuing the pinnacle of your profession

• Excellence means pursuing the best materials and classic designs

• Excellence means you expect your tools to be as well-honed as you are

Rolex has run plenty of advertisements, but there was one campaign in particular that really cemented this idea for us:

We love this campaign for a couple of reasons.

First, Rolex positions you as the hero of the story.

Rolex isn’t just a tool to help you become your best self – it’s a tool that helps you become the best.

Even if most wearers will never fly the Concorde, drive a Formula 1 car, or speak at the United Nations, Rolex makes you feel that it’s at least a possibility. It’s a brand that believes in you and makes you believe in yourself. When Rolex uses the word “superlative” in its marketing, you have the sense that they aren’t just talking about the watch — they’re talking about you.

Second, Rolex connects the demands of these aspirational professions to the product features they pioneered.

Scuba divers need a waterproof watch, so Rolex built one (novel at the time). Jet setters have busy schedules to stay on top of, hence a self-winding watch that’s always on time. Rolex allows for a bit of cosplay here–you may not actually need those features, but having them connects you to something more aspirational and exciting.

Excellence is Both Tangible and Intangible

Rolex is a great reminder that there are two types of value you can communicate in your marketing. Tangible value (“I know what time it is”) and intangible value (“wearing this watch inspires me to achieve”).

Even though Rolex sells a precise, highly engineered product and employs some of the world's top scientists, the brand over-indexes on intangible value –more than competitors like Omega or Tag Heuer.

Why?

Because once you’ve cemented the idea in your buyers’ minds that your brand embodies a value better than competitors, you’ve become the only obvious choice for people who share that value.

And that’s what the best marketing is all about.

Wrapping Up: Marketing Works…When It’s Genuine

It might be easy to look at Rolex’s marketing strategy and scoff. After all, couldn’t any watch brand say that its products are “excellent” or even “superlative”? Sure. But when we looked under the hood at Rolex, we found that it’s a company whose approach to marketing reflects who the company is at its core.

For example, we discovered in this interview that Rolex regularly makes major improvements to its materials and production processes, and it doesn’t even tell anyone. Who does that? Only a brand that cares deeply about excellence for its own sake.

3 Questions You Can Discuss With Your Team

Do we believe our POV?

Buyers are smart. If you have a POV but it doesn’t reflect who you actually are as an organization, it won’t pass the smell test. Sooner or later, buyers will see through the veneer of a false POV, and it will work against you. How do you stack up here? 

What is our category strategy?

Every category evolves, including yours. As it does, your brand will have to consider its response. Will you succumb to commoditization? Will you let competitive pressure force you into another category? Or will you take the reigns and own your category strategy, like Rolex did?

Do buyers appreciate the intangible value of our products? 

One of the best things you can do is understand why customers buy from you. Even if you’re selling a boring, technical product, like enterprise software, there is almost always an intangible, emotional reason behind the purchase. Do you know what it is? 

Holler at you next Saturday,
Devin

PS: It took me ~3 hours to write and edit this newsletter — and John and I many more for the original article. If you like today’s post, you can help me grow by forwarding it to one person with a quick “You’ll love this newsletter. Totally worth signing up.”

Catch Erica Scheider’s journey from 9-5 to full-time entrepreneur on Reed Between The Lines

Erica is incredibly talented and has quickly become both a close friend and one of my favorite creators.

Check it out if you’re interested in

→ Building a solid reputation and an audience raving fans
→ Creating a side hustle and multiple revenue streams
→ What it takes to make the leap to full-time entrepreneur

→ Watch and subscribe on Youtube 

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→ Listen and follow on Spotify

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