In a departure from what is customary, let’s speak a little bit about us! ‘Us’ is not only Europa Star, but ‘us’ refers also to the overall watch media and its journalists. Great things are happening now. The ‘luxury’ market is in full boom, stimulated by the emergence of new markets (China, Russia, India, etc.) as well as the exponential increase in the wealth of the world’s richest. It thus is attracting many new players, tempted by the publicity godsend that they hope to receive from it. The Internet is also in the mix, disrupting many strategies, redefining journalistic criteria, and redesigning the information landscape. Through forums, chat rooms, and blogs, the ‘prescribers’ have become nearly as numerous as the consumers.
‘Information’, real or assumed, credible or unreliable, independent or ‘copy-and-paste’, has become a strategic substance. In this period of turmoil, it is important to mention the recent initiative of Edipresse, a large press group of Swiss origin whose activities are international (present in 20 countries with 180 publications). It created quite a stir when it announced the creation of a ‘luxury’ pole, regrouping a selection of print publications targeting not only audiences in Switzerland and Europe, but also the very coveted emerging markets, as well as a recognized French-speaking Internet site, and the Geneva Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie.
At the very time when information sources are increasing, it is possible for this new grouping to be able to offer its advertisers the possibility of transversal campaigns, which the trade calls cross-media.
More than ever, journalistic independence finds itself at the heart of the debate. The fragility of this independence is growing because of the competitive battles among the various publications and the different poles that confront each other. Their advertising policies override the values of service, analysis, and interpretation that are seen in traditional journalism. The visual tends to replace the factual. The spectacular rules.
In this context, Europa Star, with its international print editions as well as its Internet sites, intends to continue and strengthen its specificity, becoming little by little unique in the landscape of watchmaking media, while exclusively addressing the entire watch community, with total independence. Moreover, it is precisely our function as a business to business medium that protects us from certain advertorial excesses. It is exactly because we address connoisseurs and initiates, that we cannot just tell them ‘any old thing’. Our role goes beyond the sole transmission – however sophisticated it might be – of the message that the advertisers want to convey. Our role is to decipher what is developing and brewing underneath all the exterior show.
It is important to understand that the destiny of brands is not only dependent on the end consumer, but also depends, and to a large extent, on the esteem and approval given them by the overall watch community. We sincerely thank all of our advertisers who understand this and who continue their loyalty to Europa Star. They know that we are not here to ‘serve the soup’, but rather to deepen, with them, our understanding of the marketplace, for the benefit of everyone.

Photo: ‘Copy and Paste’
Mini Watch Walkie Talkie, Loyal Technologie Co. Ltd., Hongkong, 2003 © Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Designsammlung. Foto: Franz Xaver Jaggy


Source: Europa Star August-September 2007 Magazine Issue