Timex and Conservation Alliance Campaign: Not For Men Only
Midst packing for a flight to San Francisco in a few hours, I caught the latest campaign profile from Stuart Elliott of the New York Times in my in-box. Would that I could write a longer post, but these are my bullet pointed thoughts on the new Timex Expedition/Conservation Alliance cause-centered effort (I like the campaign, by the way.)
- The pitch is aimed at men aged 30 to 50 who are either very outdoor sport/activity oriented already or who aspire to be. It certainly works for women in that age range who feel the same way.
- The campaign includes a series of short webisode profiles (returntotheoutdoors.com) of interesting people who pretty much make the outdoors their priority/life. Currently, three of those cover men, and one covers a woman – which likely reflects the male/female balance of the general outdoor sports market.
- The angle: They are leveraging the universal appreciation of their customers for glorious, open, outdoors spaces in which to explore and challenge themselves. The Conservation Alliance helps make sure we’ll have these places for the long term, and Timex happens to be supporting their cause. The implication is that the brand is going beyond trying to increase sales (though that is the hope, certainly) to serve the broader passions of a lot of their likely customers.
Bottom line: The effort is focused on men, but by no means alienates the women who also love such environments and activities (so, it is “transparent marketing” as defined in Don’t Think Pink – to be inspired and guided by the customers you serve). Brands have discovered that women respond to the subtle/softer sell approach and to authentic pitches in cause-related marketing. Timex and their agencies realize that men in the Expedition line’s customer base have similar responses.
