The genesis of several well-known brands in the world can be traced to sport, and Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso watch is one such example.
The watch, which was specifically built to cater to the tough demands of polo players, continues to be one of the Swiss manufacturer’s best-selling products, and as CEO Daniel Riedo says, it has provided them with one of their strongest “pillars of communication”.
Today, Jaeger-LeCoultre are one of the biggest sponsors of polo in the world.
Their portfolio also includes the British Polo Day, which was held in Abu Dhabi last weekend and is scheduled for it’s Dubai stop this weekend.
Prior to the event, 54-year-old Riedo, who took over as the CEO of the company last year, spoke to Joy Chakravarty on British Polo Day and what the sport means to his brand.
Q Let’s start with the reason you are in the UAE – the British Polo Day.
A At Jaeger-LeCoultre, we believe polo is our sport. It is the sport we are most represented in because of the historical association of the sport with our Reverso watch.
As for the British Polo Day, we are the official time-keepers of this event. So, I thought it would not only be a great way to meet our team here, but also to get a first-hand experience of this fantastic event.
How important is the British Polo Day to your marketing efforts in the region?
First of all, polo is very popular in this region. And secondly, polo is the way we communicate with the public. As I said, our Reverso watch was developed more than 80 years ago because of this sport.
This is a very important, growing market for us.
The watch is very famous in Europe, but also getting very popular here in the Middle East. We try and associate with all the big polo tournaments in the world, and British Polo Day is one such event.
How are you planning to leverage your sponsorship of this event?
This is the first year of our sponsorship of this event. We will be observing what we can do with the event. The British Polo Day is held not just in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but also in various other cities in the world, so it is quite possible that we will expand our association with more cities in the coming years.
Tell us the story of Reverso…
The Reverso was specifically developed for the sport of polo because of the fragility of the top glass. It was created in 1931 at the special request of British colonial army officers in India, whose watches were getting damaged during polo matches. It was important they wore the watches because they needed to be aware of the time between the chukkas.
To protect the glass, Jaeger- LeCoultre came up with a simple plan – just use a swivelling case that reversed the face of the watch. The steel casing then protected the watch very well during the matches.
From those early days, polo is in the DNA of Reverso. Today, Jaeger- LeCoultre is almost inseparably tied up with polo through our partnerships around the world.
And how has it changed from the Reverso of those early days?
From the first Reverso, which was glass and steel, we have gone to various other extensions of the same concept. We have models with two faces – one for day and one for night, two different time zones. You can get special decoration or engraving at the back.
The model has been a great success for us.
Your company is very closely associated with polo in Argentina, which is now considered the home of the game…
We had been associated with the Argentine Polo Open of Palermo for many years but last year, we had the opportunity of becoming the main sponsors. The Argentine Polo Open is the oldest polo tournament in the world, having celebrated its 120th anniversary last year. It’s perhaps the most well known polo tournament in the world.
Also, Eduardo Novillo Astrada, easily one of the most recognised names in the game, is your brand ambassador…
Exactly. I think the connection between the brand, the sport, Argentina and the sportsman was quite natural. Eduardo is a great player, one of the very few ninehandicappers in the world. Having won the Triple Crown, he is not just one of the most popular players in Argentina, but is also very well respected all over the world.
I have read that the United States is another big market where you are focusing on at the moment. Will polo help you communicate there?
I must say America is an “emerging” market for us. We are in the process of expanding our presence there and will shortly open a boutique in New York.
We have two pillars of communication – polo is one, and cinema is the other.
Polo is played a lot in the US, so if we get opportunities to tie up with events, we will.
But, at the moment, cinema is our main tool of communication in the US.
The Middle East is known for its love of horses. Is there any temptation to expand your sponsorship interest to beyond polo and perhaps get into racing and equestrian events?
There are no plans right now because this territory of communication is preempted by bigger brands. We don’t want to be a small player in any sport. If we get an event which has a good history and does not have any other watch brands associated, we could do it, but nothing concrete at the moment.
We will continue to develop our relationship with polo [but] we are always looking at new events to be a part of. We are already looking at sponsoring a new event in the UK, which will be announced soon.
