MTM Special Ops Watches are the leader in manufacturing high-end boutique military-inspired watches with a worldwide distribution network. They offer fully customizable handmade watches at a variety of price points. During my tenure as Creative Director, I lead a 5-person team of marketers, product developers, and graphic designers to redesign and implement a new identity system, website, advertising campaigns, and new product development to target a new younger demographic while maintaining a relationship with the aging devotees of the brand. With a combination of new advertising campaigns over digital and print mediums, social media (Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook) as well as collaborations with movie and video game brands, we saw an increase in engagement and sales of 51%.
BRAND AND
WEBSITE REDESIGN
MTM Special Ops Watches have a loyal following of customers who are traditionally older, more conservative, and wield more higher purchasing power. My involvement with the rebranding and website design was to update the look and feel of the company’s outward facing persona to a position that the loyal customer would appreciate but would also be enticing to a new customer demographic. I managed a team to market to a wider customer base with updated print campaigns as well as moving into digital and social media outlets. The website redesign included a full identity system overhaul including logo, colors, imagery and typefaces. Each product is fully customizable in real-time and is optimized for SEO.
I designed this high level brand book as a practical guide to initiate the rebranding and website design. I wanted to highlight a new sleeker set of brand colors, fonts, and a younger look/feel to set a roadmap of where the brand and website will be evolving.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
In order to contend in the changing industry of watches and wearable technology, I lead our product developers and marketers to create the A-38 Case, an Apple Watch compatible case in the style of MTM’s product line, and the STATUS, a fully functional analog and smartwatch combination. I spearhead the development of these products during the rise of wearables and smartwatches as a way to bring in new customers who didn’t want to sacrifice the connectivity of modern technology. These products showcased a combination of analogy and digital technology that brought media attention and a rise in online engagement with a younger, more tech-savvy audience.
A-38 CASE
The MTM A-38 is a sophisticated military-grade case for the 38mm Series 2 Apple Watch®. We have designed a titanium “surround” that incorporates two analogy quartz “micro-dials” and standard watch lugs. This resolves the common dilemma of a dead battery for various users, especially survivalists, hikers, and outdoorsmen alike.
STATUS SMARTWATCH
The MTM STATUS Analog and Smartwatch can be customized to fit your needs and style. It features a titanium watch case with multiple customizable options, including straps, dials, case, and finishes. This watch expresses connectivity and limitless potential. It features a beautiful and clean style, including a dial that integrates traditional and digital design. This rugged smartwatch features a sleek bracelet as well as 100-meter water resistance. We engineered our Smartwatch for live-action and all-terrain messaging.
MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
Before my time at MTM Special Ops Watches, their main target market was luxury-minded aging military veterans who could afford expensive luxury accessories. My goal during my tenure was to engage with the younger class of military veterans to widen our target audience. With my anthropological experience, I researched this emerging culture and targeted potential avenues to engage this new audience to the brand. My research concluded that these new veterans needed a lower price point product, digital marketing, and collaborations with trusted brands and media that they were engaged (film and video games). These insights lead to an over 50% increase in engagement and wider sales across all the product lines. The “Built for Action” campaign and collaborative give aways were key in the dramatic rise in engagement.
Built for Action
To marketing to a younger generation of customers, I led the development of the “Built for Action” campaign to advertise the medium-tier price point watches. These advertisements ran on both print and digital media as full-page spreads in magazines as well as on social media outlets and Google banners. We promoted this campaign through film, tv, and celebrity partnerships to reach a broader and more contemporary demographic.
BRAND Collaboration Give AwayS
To build engagement and brand loyalty, I set up collaborations with film and video game companies to cross-promote our lower price products. We created custom products with our partners and ran social media sweepstakes to draw in this desirable new demographic. This lead to over 50% more sales of these products and stimulated social media engagement across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
