In recent years, the world of watches has changed significantly, and so too have the ways in which we as consumers engage with different brands. On the 9th November this year, a new platform called 9 by IWC launched with a goal of helping foster stronger relationships between the watch community and IWC Schaffhausen. We spoke to one of the founding 9 to learn more!
9 By IWC
With luxury brands, and not just luxury watch brands, the public facing elements are often very much down the straight and narrow, and it is rare to see much, if any, deviance from this. As the ways in which we as consumers engage and communicate with these brands has evolved over the years, it stands to reason that this may also warrant a change in the ways in which such brands present themselves to the public. To continue to reach existing and – importantly – new consumers, brands need to continually adapt.
9 By IWC is the first real instance of this manifesting that I have come across before, and think it is a welcome and long overdue addition to the community. “Our main objective is to bring more people into the watch community, engaging with people who might not otherwise be looking to engage with watches” explained Carlo, one of the nine students who are working on the platform. The team plan to do this by taking a wider approach to their content, offering value to people who not only want to engage with the watch community for a variety of reasons, but create links with other communities as well with a view to growing their interest in watches:
“People have different depths of interest in watches, some people like the mechanical, or material aspects, and some people are more into the aesthetics of watches. Our content is going to be created by people with different focuses, and we hope that by creating content with additional passion points people can find value in engaging with us.”
Personally, I think it is a fantastic step to see a major brand such as IWC Schaffhausen fully embracing a collaboration project with the watch community, and I was keen to find out how both the idea and the relationship with IWC came to be.
9 by IWC logo
So, how did the idea for 9 By IWC come about?
Speaking with Carlo it was really interesting to hear the story. It all started with three students from Warwick University who reached out to IWC’s UK Brand Director, Grant Wilson, for something completely unrelated. The students were invited to meet Wilson and to visit the IWC boutique in London, and whilst they were there they were asked for their views on the future of the watch industry and how they thought brands should approach younger people, students, and ultimately future consumers.
The ideas that the students shared obviously had struck a chord. They kept in touch with Wilson and were later afforded the opportunity to make a formal presentation to IWC of their ideas for how to reach not only future watch consumers who are already interested in watches, but how to engage with a wider audience who are not necessarily interested in watches, too.
After this presentation, the ideas took on a life of their own and it grew into a whole project. The students worked with Adam Woodoll, a Business Analyst at IWC to reach out to other students across the country, all of whom have a different approach to enjoying their passion for watches. In the end the team of students ended up comprising 9 individuals, which is where the name 9 By IWC comes from. Unfortunately owing to the pandemic, they haven’t yet managed to all meet up in person, however that has not stopped the team from progressing and bringing the platform to life with the help of IWC.
Whilst the platform is supported by IWC, at the end of the day it is ran and driven by the students, who are free to create their own content as they believe will best meet their goals of engaging with a wider audience. Each person can create their own content but they are regularly in touch, bouncing ideas off of one another.
What kind of content can we expect to see?
“We can divide our content into three categories” explained Carlo, “the first is more classical, looking at history, unknown watch references, even vintage advertisements. The second is more daring content, the type of thing you won’t see in traditional publications, where we try to create a more edgy vibe, like our Portuguese Portugieser. And finally, the third category is unrelated to watches, adding value to those with other passion points – maybe sharing vintage cars, or a recipe by an up and coming chef.”
This convergence of different passion points is critical to the 9 By IWC platform, and is something which I think will prove to be hugely successful over time, and I can see it appealing to a broad audience open to exploring new things. We have so far seen the first concept watch, which I am sure will be one of many, and also some early examples of pairing an IWC timepiece with a pair of sneakers, of course appealing to enthusiasts with a greater focus on the aesthetics of a piece.
The Portuguese Portugieser, image credit: 9 by IWC
Sneaker x Watch combo, image credit: 9 by IWC
In the near term, the team are hoping to launch their website with different articles and deep-dives looking at various topics, which will complement the Instagram account as their main engagement channel, which will have more of the conceptual, edgy content.
Eventually, once the restrictions imposed owing to the pandemic ease, there is the ambition to launch a YouTube channel as well. With a major brand like IWC behind the platform, this opens up potential projects with partners of IWC, including the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 team, where individuals looking for content on the Formula 1 team may then also learn more about IWC Schaffhausen, too.
I said earlier that I think it is really great to a brand like IWC Schaffhausen collaborating with the watch community to help grow it, and from being able to speak with Carlo and learn more about the project I am even more excited to see how the team progresses the project over the coming months and years. Bravo, IWC Schaffhausen, and best of luck to the 9 By IWC team, I look forward to seeing you grow!
Be sure to follow 9 by IWC on Instagram.
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