How did this company benefit from dropping London from its name?

By Mike France, co-founder of Christopher Ward

When we think about premium brands, it can be all too easy to be drawn in by the flashing lights of the city. London, Paris and Milan are hotbeds of the high-end, and buzzwords of bespoke after all.

Yet in a world where individuality and localisation are taking increasing precedence over prestige, just how much value does the ‘London’ label add to a brand? Can the simple addition of ‘London’ really guarantee a surge in sales?

When we first launched Christopher Ward, we branded ourselves as ‘Christopher Ward London’. We incorporated London into our branding because we came up for the idea for Christopher Ward on a boat on the Thames.

But we also felt adding London would give the brand a traditional look and feel and add prestige to our product – premium watches.

After all, the Swiss watch industry may today be the most renowned in the world, but it was London in the 17^th and 18^th centuries that was the original home of horological advances and world leading clockmaking.

Dropped London

We have since gone through two re-brands, and have dropped ‘London’ from our branding entirely.

But While London no longer features in how we market our watches, incorporating it into our messaging early on is not a decision we regret. As a new business looking to make our way in the market, adding the weight of a global capital gave Christopher Ward watches, we believed, authority and credibility.

Any apprehension we may have had about carving out our own space in the sector was misplaced. The longer we have spent in the watch industry, it has become clear is that the best products always speak for themselves, and that you have to find your own distinctive identity rather than relying on attaching yourself to a city or a name.

 

We also removed London from our branding because we understood that consumers themselves are changing. The 21^st century consumer is savvy, digitally engaged and enjoys a wider choice than ever before.

The additional information available to these customers is making their knowledge of products ever more sophisticated. This means that those providing the best combination of quality and affordable prices are likely to usurp brands that rely solely on a name.

Younger consumers are also driven by a desire for individuality and originality, and crave a point of difference from their friends and colleagues.

This can be an advantage for smaller enterprises and niche brands, giving them a chance of attracting new customers by actively not promoting themselves as part of a wider international city brand.

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