Cartier Jewellery: The Manager of the Story

Just as childhood parents told the story of "The wolf is coming", they planted honest seeds for their children. Today, companies are also willing to use stories to spread their opinions and root the brand's seeds in the minds of consumers.

The story is easy to remember and easy to spread; the story is close to human nature and gives more emotion and vitality to the product; in an era of high homogeneity of the product, the story is also an advantageous tool for building brand personality.

An international top luxury brand known as the "emperor of the jeweler, the emperor of the jeweler", has been weaving his story for nearly 160 years and spreading it in various ways. Therefore, if anyone thinks that Cartier has been operating luxury goods such as jewelry and watches for 160 years, it is wrong, because in addition to these, Cartier has been running his own story.

Dig the story

Since its founding in 1847, Cartier has maintained close connections and close contacts with royal aristocrats and celebrities of various countries. For the average person, the life of the royal family and celebrities is mysterious and desirable. As a result, every customer of Cartier has become its free spokesperson, which is an important source of Cartier brand story.

No matter from which channel you came to know Cartier, you will hear such a story: In December 1936, the British king Edward VIII, who was less than a year old, was married to Simpson, the American civilian woman who twice divorced. He decided to abdicate. After King George VI's younger brother, George VI, took over, he was awarded the title of Duke of Windsor. In order to express his love, Duke of Windsor instructed Cartier to design four pieces of jewelry for the Duchess of Windsor, namely the "Cheetah" brooch, the "BIB" necklace, the "tiger" long-handled glasses and the "Duck Head" brooch.

Due to its beautiful and moving stories, and its status as “the first animal jewelry of Cartier”, the “Cheetah” brooch has almost become the iconic product of Cartier, and this has led Cartier’s “Cheetah” series products to be much later. Loved by others.

In fact, the business of Cartier really thrived, and the popularity of the Parisian royal family and nobles began with the favor of Nathlen’s young cousin, Princess Mathilde. Later, the Prince of Wales of the Crown Prince of Wales ordered a set of 27 braided headdresses from Cartier and was worn at the ceremony where he was crowned as Edward VII. Two years later, Edward VII gave the royal commission of Cartier. Since then, Cartier has successively been appointed by the Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Belgian, Egyptian and other kings rooms to become the royal jewelry suppliers.

These stories with the royal family and celebrities have not only brought business development to Cartier, but also greatly enhanced Cartier's brand value and increased its premium ability.

Of course, in addition to the stories behind these brands, Cartier has its own story behind every product.

Cartier's classics, such as the “Tank Watch Series”, were designed to commemorate tank fighters in World War I. They were first sold in 1919, and their harmonious and concise appearance is still sought after by the fashion world. In 1924, Cartier designed a unique and deeply charmed Cartier ring for the famous poet Jean Cocteau.

“We will not design products exclusively for consumers in a certain country or region. Because customers all know that Cartier is an international brand. If you simply design products for consumers in a certain area, it will affect the image of the brand.” Cartier China North China Zhang Hao, the deputy general manager, said, "But we will be inspired by the culture of each place when designing our products."

In 2003, Cartier launched the “Dragon Kiss” jewelry collection. Its creative inspirations are all derived from Chinese traditional culture and art. They include some of the simplest everyday things in everyday life such as knots, wind chimes, locks and classic “dragons”. The sculptural interpretation symbolizes happiness and auspiciousness, success and permanent jewelry treasures.

Spread the story

For luxury goods, brand history and brand spirit are more important than the product itself. Therefore, luxury goods marketing needs to choose a good communication channel and use the right way to convey the brand spirit to the target group.

“Customers appreciate the quality of life and taste that Cartier brings, and at the same time, it is very important for them to understand the stories and culture behind the brand. Thus, consumers can further experience brands with a history of nearly 160 years like Cartier. Artistic feelings brought to them," said Lu Huiquan, chief executive of Cartier Greater China.

For a luxury product targeting the niche, customers can't improve their meeting rate with a wide range of channels to achieve brand communication. Even though Cartier has entered China for 15 years, there are only 12 boutiques so far – although this number is already a small part of luxury brands, it is actually a product that is more likely to occupy consumers’ minds through distribution. Little witches saw it.

"Our main form of communication is the activities of tour exhibitions and various new product launches for VIP customers." Zhang Jian told the "modern managers."

In May 2004, Cartier held the "Cartier Art Exhibition" at the Shanghai Museum. The exhibition includes treasures designed by Cartier for the Duchess of Windsor, the legendary historical figure, from the 1930s to the 1960s, including her favorite sapphire leopard-type brooch; the most massive diamond in the history of global jewellery created in 1928 for Patiala, the Indian state of India. Necklaces, and 19 crowns ordered by King George V of the United Kingdom. In the same year, the company’s parent company, Richemont Group, also held an exhibition “Watch Watch Miracles” in Beijing’s Taimiao.

“We have just completed the end of January this year in Cartier’s “Watch of the Herald Family” watch tour, which lasted for more than three months.” Zhang Xiaoyu, manager of the North China Area Propaganda Department of Cartier China, was still very excited about this tour. “This is us. The largest exhibition ever held in China."

According to Zhang Xiaoyu's introduction, the tour tour has passed through 18 cities, including not only the first-class cities but also the second- and third-tier cities such as Dalian, Wenzhou and Anshan.

“These cities have great potential for consumption and they grow very quickly.” Zhang Xiaoyu said, “Every time we spend a long period of time before the exhibition, we investigate, research and prepare to find the most suitable way for the Chinese market and choose the most suitable city. ”

However, in addition to these, the key to making a tour more successful is to reflect on the details of the target customers' invitations, schedules, and venue services.

“We will seek out the group we want to invite through the contact of the staff with the consumers and the contact with the shopping mall.” Zhang Xiaoyu said, “Of course, the customers we have accumulated over the years and the new friends we met on some activities are also the objects we invite. , sometimes some people who have participated in events held in Cartier will also recommend friends to participate."

In each exhibition, detailed event information is naturally less. However, Cartier has a more special approach.

“Last time the tank exhibition, we worked with a very famous watch connoisseur in Hong Kong to publish a special volume for this tour and introduce the entire Cartier tank series.” Zhang Xiaoyu introduced: “He is from From a consumer point of view to introduce the product and his experience with the product, this allows visitors to better understand our products.”

Of course, in the exhibition, interactive programs and celebrities are naturally exhibited. "Especially in the second-tier cities, the stars still have a good effect."

In addition, at the exhibition, visitors can also take a photo of a favorite Cartier tank watch. After the show is over, Cartier's staff will send photos to Cartier's very beautiful photo frame and send them to them. These "value added" services will undoubtedly affect visitors and increase their concern for Cartier. It is understood that another tour this year - the exhibition of Louis Cartier round watch has also been launched in succession.

Accelerating the establishment of boutique stores in various regions has also become an important channel for Cartier to increase its customer engagement rate and train customers. "This year, Cartier wants to open five or six boutiques in China." Zhang Jian said to "modern managers."

Create a story

In addition to using her own 160-year history and the relationship with the royal family and celebrities to weave a beautiful and moving story and disseminate them to the target audience in various forms, Cartier has constantly "created" some new stories.

In 1973, Cartier bought back the first "Magic Clock" created in 1923 at the Geneva International Auction and became the first collection of Cartier Antiques.

In the ensuing 20 years, the Cartier Antiques Collection Office collected more than 1200 items from top international auctions and private collectors. Through events such as the collection of treasure collections and international exhibitions, Cartier tells the public about one of its exquisite stories, allowing people to appreciate its brand value while understanding the historical tradition and innovative design of Cartier.

Since 1989, some of Cartier’s collections have been exhibited in many world-class museums, including the Paris-Sud Palace Museum, the Russian Hermitage Museum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Courtyard Museum, and the Shanghai Museum in China.

In 1984, Cartier created the Cartier Contemporary Art Foundation. The Foundation looks for original works in the world and provides a space for artists to create and display. Therefore, it has also become a collection of various forms of artistic expression.

Although the Foundation itself is an organization that promotes modern art and has no commercial colors, for the Cartier brand, this has given it an extra story. This story also makes the Cartier brand even more noble and pure.

“Each brand should not tell stories for storytelling. Instead, it should tell stories to let customers understand what kind of branding the brand has and what kind of emotional appeal the customer will satisfy when consuming this branded product.” Touchingly said.