Celebrity ambassadors hold the key to digital. Which brands are winning?

In the first Vogue Business Watches Index, the digital space is dominated by three top-performing brands: Cartier, Omega and Chopard, followed closely by Longines and Rolex.

The top three brands for market share also sit within the top five brands for digital performance: with Chopard notably absent, Rolex makes up 30.3 per cent, while Cartier and Omega each make up 7.5 per cent. By contrast, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, which have respective market shares of 5.6 per cent and 4.9 per cent, boast low digital performances at 26 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively.

The first half of the year is when most novelties are launched, typically at watch fair Watches and Wonders. Taking place in April each year, the trade fair acts as a prompt for brands to produce content. This year, IWC made a splash in Geneva by bringing its latest ambassador Gisele Bündchen to the Watches and Wonders event. Cartier focused on jewellery timepieces, mostly evoking animals as part of its Nature Sauvage high jewellery collection, as well as a new jewellery watch, named Reflection. Cartier also celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Santos De Cartier model with fresh iterations. Rolex, too, updated existing lines, but actively focused on communicating about its rich sports sponsorship calendar, which includes the Australian Open, Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. In the first six months of the year, Omega added new models to its successful Speedmaster range, such as a Chronoscope style fitted with a black, white and gold dial to coordinate with the colour scheme of Paris 2024, as the maison tightened its links to this year’s Olympic Games. Omega had a great red carpet season in the first half of 2024, with watches worn by the likes of Cillian Murphy and Kevin Costner translating to digital buzz.

Instagram is the social platform used the most by watch brands, attracting an average of 259 posts across 60 luxury watch brands in a year period, followed by Facebook with an average of 162. All brands have a YouTube channel, with Rolex dominating the space with two million subscribers, fivefold that of Omega, which comes in second, and about tenfold of Cartier, which places third. But only 14 of the 20 brands surveyed have a TikTok account — Rolex has a verified account that is now inactive. With 16 million and 15 million, respectively, Rolex and Cartier have three times more followers on Instagram than Hublot in third position. While Cartier additionally benefits from its jewellery content, in July 2022, the maison launched an Instagram account dedicated to timepieces (@CartierWatchCommunity) to showcase content co-created with influential personalities within the watch space, as well as reposts of content shared to the platform by community members. (Cartier approaches users to request the image rights before sharing them.)

When it comes to engagement, Piaget, Chopard, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega and Vacheron Constantin rise to the top five. Piaget has benefited from the online buzz around its 150th anniversary with the relaunch of Polo 79, a hefty gold watch popular among the jet setters of the ’80s, as well as a series of sautoir styles. However, Piaget’s most successful posts are those made in collaboration with Thai actor and model Nattawin Wattanagitiphat, and Korean actor and K-pop band member Lee Jun-ho.

YouTube vs TikTok

YouTube has long established itself as a hotspot for watch lovers. YouTubers, such as Teddy Baldassarre or The Urban Gentry, have amassed millions of followers, becoming crucial in spreading the gospel of timepieces. Brands have recognised the platform’s potential, with all 20 boasting active accounts.

Rolex takes a strong lead. The Swiss brand has two million subscribers and shares content focused on its widespread sponsorship activity, which spans sports, the performing arts, nature conservation and its various mentorship schemes. In the past year, Rolex has dedicated only 30 per cent of videos to highlighting its product range, focusing predominantly on Rolex’s commitment to society — a sharp contrast to its Instagram activity, which hones in on its product offering.

Nevertheless, Rolex is missing out on TikTok’s reported 1.5 billion user base — mainly when it comes to Gen Z — which is projected to almost double by 2027, according to Statista.

The potential of TikTok comes into sharp focus when comparing Hublot’s performance across each video platform. On YouTube, Hublot’s video count sits at 812 — the highest of all brands — for its 47,200 subscribers, achieving 146.7 million views in total; whereas on TikTok, Hublot, with only 118 posts, has amassed 1.3 million followers, translating to 27 times the followers through one-seventh of the content. Interestingly, on YouTube, Hublot has an average of 3,107 views per video, while on TikTok, the brand has managed to amass a total of 7.5 million likes, at an average of 63,560 likes per video.

TikTok has the potential to reach a wider audience and attract higher engagement. TikTok’s virality effect is particularly relevant when the content features ambassadors. For example, a video featuring DJ Snake and another featuring French footballer Kylian Mbappé attracted 2.8 million and 4.3 million views on YouTube, respectively. On TikTok, however, similar clips with the same ambassadors garnered 23.9 million (DJ Snake) and 31.3 million (Mbappé) views, which is about tenfold the reach of YouTube.

Similar patterns of reach can be seen among brands that are considerably less active than Hublot — even without the megastar ambassadors. Zenith, for example, counts 11,400 subscribers on YouTube, where it has posted 254 videos, whereas on TikTok, the brand has amassed 42,500 followers and a total of 215,000 likes through half the number of content.

It’s key to remember, however, that not all YouTubers occupying the watch space have firmly established themselves on TikTok, but that YouTube has grown some stars on its own turf, like Mike Nouveau or The Watch King.

Arts vs sport

For watch brands, the digital arena is populated by products and ambassadors who predominantly come from two worlds: sports and the performing arts, particularly music and film. Among the top five digital performers, Rolex and Omega have an equal presence in both worlds, while Cartier has firmly focused on film, a playing field that better ties in with the house’s main jewellery business. The majority of other watch brands have concentrated solely on sports, with occasional forays onto the red carpet.

The watch industry has historical ties with the sporting industry. Looking back at the early development of watchmaking, the origins have been closely linked to the needs of global exploration and navigation. Meanwhile, wristwatches for men emerged from the necessity to coordinate manoeuvres on the battlefield and to measure individual performance. Precisely 100 years ago, Cartier created the first men’s wristwatch at the request of Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who needed a reliable timepiece to establish a flying speed record. In 1927, British swimmer Mercedes Gleitze became Rolex’s first ambassador when she swam across the English Channel wearing a waterproof Rolex Oyster, and Omega’s partnership with the Olympics dates back to 1932.

The world of sports aligns well with watchmaking’s claims of precision, and it reinforces the idea that a watch is bought to celebrate an achievement. This relationship remains strong across most watch brands, many of which have chosen to support a specific sport.

Rolex primarily supports tennis as the official timekeeper of Wimbledon and golf as the sponsor of numerous prestige tournaments, including the US Open and the PGA Championship. Hublot is strongly associated with football, acting as the official timekeeper for both Fifa and Uefa. Tag Heuer supports Formula One, while Omega serves as the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games. Breitling has focused on rugby in the UK, Panerai has established ties with sailing and Richard Mille has ventured into padel, a rapidly growing sport.

In addition to having ambassadors from these sports, many brands collaborate with champions from other areas. For instance, Hublot counts Mbappé and tennis player Novak Djokovic among its partners. The most successful digital posts of brands are often linked to sporting personalities — on their own channels and those of the talents themselves. Panerai’s most successful post comes from its support of Luna Rossa, the Prada-sponsored sailing team that participates in the prestigious America’s Cup.

Sporting talents tend to be young and highly active on social media, offering brands a chance to connect with the next generation of consumers. Tag Heuer’s youngest ambassador Sky Brown, a British-Japanese professional skateboarder and surfer, drew significant attention this spring with a daring stunt performed on London’s Tower Bridge.

Music and film, meanwhile, are also popular domains for watch brands, allowing them to associate with the artistic pursuits and glamour they embody. Houses imbed themselves in the iconic styles and brands of their ambassadors, tapping into their place in the cultural zeitgeist. It is through these associations that watch brands align their products with luxury fashion pieces, establishing watches as chic accessories that transcend simple functionality.

Cartier has been particularly active in the arts. Among its ambassadors are Franco-Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili, who has over 300,000 Instagram followers, and Blackpink K-pop star Jisoo, who has 79 million followers on Instagram — nearly five times that of Cartier. In film, Cartier is the official sponsor of the Venice Film Festival, an event that combines the elevation of cultural institution La Biennale di Venezia with the glamour of the red carpet, set against the stunning backdrop of Venice.

Timothée Chalamet, a Cartier ambassador with 19 million Instagram followers, regularly wears the brand for red carpet events. Aside from his collaboration with the house on a necklace worn at last year’s Wonka premiere (which was paired with a pink tuxedo), he is a proponent of the female watch trend, which sees styles such as the diamond-studded Cartier Crash, typically designed for women, on the wrists of men. Indian actress Deepika Padukone, another Cartier ambassador, frequently showcases Cartier jewellery on both the red carpet and Instagram, where she has 80 million followers. Her role as global ambassador gives Cartier a stronger presence with Indian consumers, an increasingly significant demographic in the luxury market, and the Indian diaspora worldwide. Cartier’s most successful posts feature Jisoo and Padukone; they spotlight Cartier’s jewellery line, but tend to have a halo effect that extends to timepieces.

Although historically associated with sport, Rolex has long benefitted from its affiliation to iconic film stars like Paul Newman and Grace Kelly. It has become increasingly vocal about its support of the performing arts. In addition to sponsoring institutions such as the Royal Opera House in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Rolex’s Mentor and Protégé Arts initiative pairs emerging talents with accomplished artists across music, dance, theatre and film. The success of some of Rolex’s most recent social media posts stems from the arts: a YouTube video featuring Martin Scorsese, released in the spring, garnered over a million views, while a tribute to soprano Maria Callas for her 100th anniversary reached half a million views.

Similar to Rolex, Omega has a blend of both sports and film when it comes to building associations. The brand has its own formula, however, with a greater emphasis on the film industry, leveraging its relationship with the James Bond franchise that began in 1995 with GoldenEye and dressing celebrities for red carpet appearances. This focus has proven successful: aside from a video chronicling Omega’s partnership with the Olympics, one of the brand’s most popular social media posts features Korean actress Han So-hee (17 million Instagram followers), attracting over 700,000 likes.

Expert interview: Raynald Aeschlimann, CEO, Omega

Omega obtained incredible visibility during the 2024 Paris Olympics, both in traditional media and social media, what determined the success of the brand?

The 2024 Paris Olympics marked the comeback of the games as we had always known them, with the audience watching athletes and cheering them on. After the Tokyo Olympics, during which Covid-related restrictions were still in place, the recent Olympics saw a return to the celebratory mood historically associated with the event. Paris also provided a very glamorous backdrop; some videos and pictures were beautiful to look at thanks to the beauty of the historical buildings where the competitions took place or with spectacular monuments in sight. This Olympics was a lifestyle event in which celebrities took part with enthusiasm.

What are you particularly proud of?

Our brand is about delivering precision and emotions, and being the official timekeeper of the Olympics allowed us to perfectly convey the essence of our brand. But this sponsorship comes with responsibility, which we take seriously and as an opportunity to advance in research and technology. For example, during the 2024 Olympics, we tested new AI-driven technology like 360-degree replays in events such as athletics, diving and swimming to provide judges with the most detailed and comprehensive information to help them make their decisions. It was a joy to see our brand ambassadors from the world of cinema celebrate with our clients and our ambassadors from the world of sports. It’s also fortunate that athletes such as French swimmer Léon Marchand, who is brand ambassador, established records at this year’s games.

How did you make the most of your sponsorship of this event?

For the first time, Omega fully capitalised on the Omega House — established in 2008 — as a central hub for the brand during the games, where guests, celebrities, clients and athletes gathered to relax, mingle and have fun. Every other night, we hosted events, and the Omega House became a must-see club in Paris. Our team did a fantastic job relaying on social media the most significant moments of the Olympics and those happening at Omega House, so it felt like we hosted a global party to celebrate sports.

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