MAN WITH A MISSION

BREITLING’S CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER TIM SAYLER TALKS ABOUT COMMUNICATION AND THE NEW DIRECTION FOR THE BRAND

Not too long ago, Breitling hosted the latest edition of its Breitling Summit in Dubai. The brand unveiled the latest Breitling Aviation Pioneers Squad and a curated array of new collections. It comprises a total of more than eight models from the Avenger, Superocean and Aviator 8 families. DAMAN caught up with the Chief Marketing Officer of Breitling, Tim Sayler, for a little chat during the event.

DA MAN: First of all, with a brand like Breitling, how challenging is it to maintain your history and heritage, but also still remain attractive and modern in your communication with everything that you do today?

Tim Sayler:

As you may already know we’re making big effort to bring our heritage a bit more to the forefront. Because it has really bit neglected and not so much included in the brand’s communication. And we think that’s really huge opportunity for us because Breitling, among many brands, probably has one of the richest histories and also richest archives in terms of really iconic watches that I think have a lot new relevance today.

That’s why we’re doing strategies like the Re-edition, and this is going to be a recurring strategy to bring out regular Re-editions. As I mentioned, our history has been a little bit neglected and we’re trying to bring it back to the forefront. I think history doesn’t necessarily have to block you in the past but rather push you forward. So, for us, our history shows that we have legitimacy and authenticity, and deep roots in aviation.

But then we do a modern new collection like the Avenger, we’re partnering with Drone Champions League. This is really what we’re doing now. All of our new launches are rooted in history, but still have contemporary aspects in their design. With the exception of the Reedition, because the Re-edition strategy requires us to be 100-percent or as much as possible true to the original.

DA: Could you share with us the story of the new Breitling Aviation Pioneering Squad? TS:

We are of course one of the leading watch brand in aviation and pilot’s watches, but at the same time we really wanted to rejuvenate the entire brand. Therefore, we want to find out and position ourselves in aviation in a way that’s relevant to a new generation. We’re really looking for the new frontier in aviation.

So, what is really exciting about aviation for this new generation? We were approached, first of all, by Drone Champions League through its founder. He came to us and showed us a video of him flying an acrobatic plane and he told us he’s a pilot, his personal stories of how he became one and it was through flying drone first. He was a drone pilot, then he became a full fledge acrobatic pilot.

We realized then that flying drones is also part of aviation. Maybe the new generation will become pilots of real planes or stick with drones. It doesn’t matter. It’s still a new frontier of aviation. So, that’s the story. Now we have been partnering with Drone Champions League for a year. And this year, in connection with the Avenger watch, we said: “Ok, we need to go a step further and put a face to this partnership.” Obviously there’s no one better than Luke Bannister, who has been the world champion of drone racing so many times.

DA: Is this one of the ways you engage with the next generation of Breitling enthusiasts?

TS:

Exactly. I also have to admit and Georges [Kern] said the same. It’s a new sport. There’s also e-gaming and e-sports which is something that we’re not very much aware of. But Drone Champions League is a huge sport already.

There are hundreds of thousands of spectators, but the real followers are online. Maybe this is not yet the immediate concern Breitling, but it’s definitely the right investment for us to be present and known to a future audience that loves flying. And we, as the number one pilot’s brand, we have to be there. By having Luke Bannister as part of our Aviation Pioneer Squad, I think we can reach this audience.

DA: Last but not least, where is the brand positioned right now? What else do you think that still needs to be done?

TS:

We are a bit further down the line now than in the beginning. But of course there remains a lot of work to do. Overall, we are very pleased with the progress that has been made; we’ve seen a very positive reaction in general. We see also that now, after the message has been out for since 18 months, people and our audience understand it ... and they like it.

The key thing is to restructure our collections. We’ve always showed our new collections being restructured, which includes eight collections, and we’re almost done repositioning each of them. But there’s one collection that is kind of missing and that ’s the Chronomat. That’s the last missing piece that will be coming next spring.

After that, we think we’ve reworked our basic collection structure and this one will continue to be build up. And you know, there is the women’s market, which we haven’t really captured yet. There’s much more potential. The first phase will be done by next spring, while restructuring the collections portfolio and also the brand in two years, which is extremely fast.

“Our history has been a little bit neglected and we’re trying to bring it back to the forefront”