Citizen Watch America Proves Value of IRR Market to Brands
The Importance of the Corporate Market to CWA
The Impact of Brand Names in the IRR Market
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This is the story of a major brand that has stood the test of time in the incentive, rewards, and recognition (IRR) industry. When Bulova joined Citizen Watch America 2017, the combined company retained its commitment to the marketplace, unlike so many other brands that bowed out when the economy hit a wall in the late 2000s.
Once upon a time before the Great Recession there were two major incentive trade shows in Chicago and New York that together featured over 100 leading
brands and hundreds of other companies active in the incentive, rewards, and recognition market. The two shows attracted thousands of end-users; incentive, recognition, loyalty, and marketing companies and promotional distributors not only for exhibits but for education. Almost every major brand belonged to the Incentive Marketing Association, and IMRA, now Incentive Merchandise to Reward & Appreciate, which supports the industry’s incentive representatives. Today, the shows are long gone, and only a handful of brands even have a sales manager specifically in charge of the IRR market, when that was the norm in the 2000s. This is all the more surprising given the need today for omnichannel marketing--finding customers through whatever channel they buy. For over 50 years at Citizen Watch America, the IRR market has remained a priority. As far as the executives at Citizen Watch America are concerned the only change over the last few decades has been the steady growth in its special markets business. Citizen Watch America is one of the few brands left with a dedicated corporate division led by IRR industry veteran Adrienne Forrest, Senior Vice President, with over 23 years with Bulova and Citizen Watch America, along with the corporate support of Patricia (Patty) Schmoyer), Vice President of Brand Marketing.
The Importance of the Corporate Market to CWA
CWA President Jeffrey Cohen, “When Bulova joined Citizen Watch America, we took great care to preserve the strengths of our corporate sales division,
making it stronger with a diversity of brands.”Explains Forrest, “Citizen Watch America, which includes Citizen, Bulova and other distinctive brands, much of what we do today reflects what we’ve done all along to address the needs of our customers and distribution partners in the market.”
This commitment to the marketplace starts with having a dedicated inhouse team, including Heather Chevreau, Director of Corporate Sales. Forrest says CWA remains committed to using incentive representatives supporting the incentive, recognition, loyalty, marketing, and promotional distributors and other firms serving the corporate market. “When we get leads from our corporate web site, we route them to the appropriate partner,” explains Forrest. The brand is one of the few to have its own web site for corporate sales.From an operations standpoint, the company has its own facility in California for warehousing, drop-shipping, and inhouse personalization and customization, she continues. “We are also I believe the only watch brand that has a quality line of appropriately priced watches specifically for the corporate market to ensure continuity in long-term recognition programs.” The company remains committed to exhibiting at promotional products and meetings and incentive travel market events and supports the industry’s associations and media, she explains, “because we have always believed in the value of research, effective practices, sharing information, and of having one-to-one relationships with our distribution partners, customers, and colleagues.”
The Impact of Brand Names in the IRR Market
More testimony to the importance of the corporate market to CWA is the focus of Patty Schmoyer, Vice President of Bulova Brand Marketing, whose team provides corporate sales with everything needed to support its story. “The staying power and recognition of the Citizen and Bulova brands is crucial for incentives, rewards, event and corporate gifting, because it makes the gifts and rewards more valuable and desirable,” she observes. Adds Forrest, “our collaborations with notable figures and brands such Frank Sinatra, Frank Lloyd Wright, Marc Anthony and Disney help people identify even more closely with our brands.”
Both Forrest and Schmoyer have lived through the fashion and smart watch fads that for a moment looked as if they would set back the traditional watch business. Explains Schmoyer, “Ironically, both of those fads helped build the overall category, creating even more demand for traditional watches that people today use as an accessory, not so much as a time piece. Now, many people might have a smart watch and several traditional watches depending on the occasion.”
Concludes CWA President, Jeffrey Cohen, “As we celebrate the past 150 years of Bulova’s rich history, we are looking ahead to the next 150 years, taking our heritage and what we have accomplished and created in the past to launch us forward to the future, by always updating our technology and engineering to be the best and the greatest that it can be. Bulova has always been there during key events throughout America’s history and throughout pop culture and we will continue to be part of important moments for the next generation and beyond.”
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