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Luxury brands have historically been reticent to leave behind the security of glossy print in high-end magazines, where they have control over placement and context of an advertisement. In the online space, luxury and premium brands face the dilemma of attempting to target new customers, while at the same time ensuring that brand image is not compromised by other content or competitor activity.

Two-faced watch

Jaeger-LeCoultre (JLC) wanted to use the 80th anniversary of its famous Reverso watch as the hook for an international marketing campaign that would illustrate the USP of the two-faced reversible watch. The campaign also had to increase brand and product awareness among an international target demographic of influencers and luxury consumers across EMEA and Asia.

To reach this demographic, JLC needed a strong and long-term brand association with a leading international media that could provide access to the target audience. CNN was identified as a suitable partner.

CNN aimed to maximise exposure and reach in Europe and Asia to extend the awareness of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand and the Reverso watch. If the Reverso promoted the idea of surprise and unexpectedness with its two-sided watch face, CNN needed a solution that would complement the unique spirit of the Reverso and fuel conversation around content that reflected the product and brand values.

The Revealer

CNN created an international cross-platform and social media brand campaign targeting CNN's upscale audience that was driven by the association with the exclusive new Television programme segment within CNN's prime time show BackStory. This new programme called The Revealer was named to echo the product name of the watchmaker, Reverso.

In the bi-monthly five minute programme, CNN's BackStory presenter Michael Holmes uncovered the hidden side of an internationally famous place, object or story reflecting perfectly the Reverso's characteristic hidden face. The programme first edition broadcast in March 2011, and is scheduled to run until January 2012.

CNN also produced short 60-second versions of the programme to air throughout the campaign and a companion JLC branded micro-site, hosted on CNNInternational.com.

Games and social media

This multi-platform solution has audience engagement at its heart: CNN created an accompanying Revealer game sponsored by Jaeger-LeCoultre. Clues to the next episode's subject were distributed throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter and the Revealer site. BackStory host Michael Holmes announced the game on-air via a call to participate and the first person to guess correctly is announced during the show. The game is promoted across social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter.

Results

The TV campaign is estimated to reach around 16 million upscale Europeans and Asians.

The campaign only ends in January 2012, but the initial results up to the fifth week of the campaign indicate the campaign has generated an ROI of 1:6 and 2905 conversions, while the branded Revealer micro-site registered more than 109 000 page views and visits to the micro-site have come from 150 countries

On the launch day the homepage roadblock delivered more than 10 million impressions and a click-through rate per page view of 0.56%.

In PR: 200 articles in press, online and social media for an estimated media value of US$800 000 in EMEA. More than 240 000 Twitter followers and 710 000 BackStory and CNN's official Facebook page fans were reached.

This campaign won "Best Luxury Campaign" at the 2011 M&M Awards.

Why is this on Cream? This content partnership with CNN demonstrated an excellent brand and audience fit for the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand.