Ch. 4 - The Marketing Environment

Montblanc has always been a luxury for the middle class, and a basic supply for the top one percent. Their target market has always been aim at a more financially established person. Montblanc has a wide demographic, because it's a world wide operation. The biggest demographic in america would most likely be middle aged, Caucasian males that live in wealthy areas. In the US for international demographic would most likely be middle age Chinese men.

The more popular collection in Montblanc are their Limited editions. Montblanc releases three limited editions each year, a writer, a patron of the arts, and a special character. These are for clients with a component lifestyle that may have more interest in one collection than another. For example in 2015 Montblanc released a writer(Leo Tolsoy), a patron of the arts(Pavarotti), and a great character(Andy Warhol). If you go to the Metropolitan opera house on a regular basis you're more than likely to find 2015 patron of the arts(Pavarotti) more relatable which would hopefully inspire you to purchase a piece. Every year there are three new pieces to spark your personal interest.

Ch. 18- Social Media and Marketing

When it comes to Social Media, Montblanc doesn't have the strongest background, but they are portrayed as a token of success on many social forums by celebrities, and clients alike. A recent example is Demi Lovato's instsgram account with has 34,400,000 followers, which is a photo and video sharing application. Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas have formed a record label, signing the contracts Demi Lovato signed the contact with a Montblanc Writing instrument and was quoted while signing "Big Deal Pens for Big Deal Contracts" This image alone current has 480,000 Likes, and 5,463 Comments, a lot of which are of people asking about the product and where to get it. Besides this photo, there were a series of photos posted by the artist once again emphasizing the important of the signing, all of which accumulated to a total of 1,812,000 likes, and 12,818 comments.       

                               Montblanc also uses many well known faces in there advertising champagnes around the world. For example Johny Depp, Huge Jackman, Eva Green, and Nicolas Cage to name a few.        

   

Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

What lies at the core of Montblanc is the value of Craftsmanship of multiple generations of engineers. Montblanc is world renowned in for making a product that will last generations. In venturing onto other products beside writing instruments Montblanc has not lost its core values. With every timepiece Montblanc took a step further when they inherited Minerva, and their Switzerland facilities, third and fourth generation watchmakers.  Montblanc also understand that we live in a generation where technology is desired, but luxury is desired more because; What is      luxury if not when desire overcomes reason.

When it comes to master timepieces, Montblanc's current CEO Jerome Lambert is no stranger to exquisite world renowned luxury timepieces. Former CEO of Jaeger Lecoultre and is one of the reason Jaeger Lecoultre has risen to such esteem. Mr. Lambert has been quoted expressing his aspirations for Montblanc's timepieces in the years to come.

One of the first initiative that Mr. Lambert has implicated is in the Retail Price vs. Value. One of the prime examples of this is in Montblanc's  Heritage Perpetual Calendar Time Pieces. Montblanc's Retailed price $40,000 ,(a Patek Philippe starts at about $150,000) Essentially you pay less for you Montblanc, but it is valued for more then what you pay (Valued at about $50,000). One of the main reasons is because of Montblanc's hours testing felicities in Villeret, Switzerland where the time pieces are tested for an accumulated 500 hour, meaning they don't have to test it under Switzerland 'Kiosk' Facility, which in turn equals not overcharging the clients just to get a chronometrie seal from kiosk. It is because of this system that Montblanc can offer it's client a three tier pricing range; 1st 3,000-15,000 2nd 25,000-80,000 3rd 100,000-UP Most of Montblanc's time pieces fall under the 1st tier

.

One of the newest additions to the Montblanc timepiece collections is the Timewalker Urban Speed collection. This is one of Montblanc's most innovated pieces. It combines the classic allures of a timepiece and necessities of your phone on a small screen on the watches strap(ie: email, text, reminders)This was a innovated step on Montblanc part to keep up with today's necessities.

Chapter 1 - Overview of Marketing (Brief History and Mission Statement)

                                      

    Montblanc’s  true tale began with the creation of the Meisterstück ("Masterpiece") fountain pen in 1924, made with a 18K Gold nib, a precises resin body, and a 18K gold clip. (Please note that the company as a whole was founded in 1906  by the stationer Claus-Johannes Voss, the banker Alfred Nehemias and the engineer August Eberstein in the Schanzen district of Hamburg, Germany and was first introduced as The Simplo Filler Pen company). Perfectly handmade with the finest of European craftsmanship, the iconic writing instrument has secured cult status – and the affair with writing instruments did not stop there. It has grown to include a variety of magnificent collections, including the bejeweled Bohème and sleek, contemporary Starwalker, among venerated others.While Montblanc's precious writing instruments record the moments of your life, their equally exquisite timepieces aid you in keeping track of them. Like their writing instrument counterparts, their master timepieces are each meticulously crafted by hand to the finest of Swiss tradition. Montblanc also provide their clientele with splendidly crafted leather products, elegant jewelry, enthralling fragrances and contemporary eyewear.  

The essences of Montblanc's has been described by former CEO Lutz Bethge :

"What luxury is, is naturally a very personal perception. For me, luxury products are a promise. A promise that the product you buy from Montblanc is of highest esteem, based on its timeless, elegant design and the high quality, which is derived from the excellence of our craftsmen. It’s a promise that you will still love the product in 10, 20 or 30 years, like in many times where you received a Montblanc item as a gift, you still will appreciate and love the person who gave it to you to show how much this person respects, appreciate or loves you. It is our most important task to nurture this trust in our brand and our products. Sustainable value, highest quality, excellence in craftsmanship, and creativity make our products elegant and refined objects, which enrich the individual style of our customers. A Montblanc product is luxury because it’s a lifetime companion that is worthy to be handed down to the next generation."

Each piece weather it be a timepiece, a belt, a wallet,a pair of sunglasses, or a writing instrument has a story to tell, yours.