I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
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Terminator 2
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I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by Terminator 2 »

I dont want to keep banging on about this logo issue and creating new threads on the subject but I am creating this thread in the hope it will maybe be the beginning of the end the negativity in here at the moment because I for one am getting bored with it. I am sure the rest of you are as well. I really feel for Kip for instance.

What is/was the rebrand and what IS the actual problem with it?

If Im honest all comments that I see that are negative both here and elsewhere are mostly focusing on the logo, style and positioning. I am not really seeing comments that are negative re the actual relaunch/rebrand apart from the odd "hipster" comment. Most of the people seem to be happy enough that the company has gone back to calling itself Christopher Ward and lost the CHR thing which most of us never really understood anyway. So the only real problem with the "rebrand" actually seems to be the logo/positioning. All the hours that CW HQ etc devoted ( passionately I am sure ) to the rebrand only really went pear shaped because of one mistake which was the logo. All that effort wasted by one simple thing that should have been obvious early on in the process.

Okay I agree with everyone else and to heck with it I am going to be brutally honest here. It is damn ugly re the left justifaction of the 2 words. Whoever signed that off as being attractive needs a good kick up the proverbial. It is certainly not attractive and it is certainly not balanced to the eye of the vast majority of the population unless you happen to have retricted vision with a Strabismus eyeball ( feel free to google it Mike ).

So Mike, Chris and the rest at CW. Please lets now move on. You probably only got just one aspect wrong with your rebrand which resulted in this. Man up and accept the mistake. Yes you might have to bin a few dozen dials but you can happily still keep your font ie your logo. Its not that bad and I certainly do not have an issue with it. Centralise your Ward beneath the Christopher and put the logo back to 12 oclock. Thats it. The job is done.

There you go CW Ltd and best of all that advice was free.

The End. ( Hopefully )

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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

@Terminator 2 - good initial post and I'm with you on this. I was astounded by the maelstrom of negativity to the re-branding, new website etc. and, in the main, couldn't myself see what all the hurrumph was about.

However IMHO, now two weeks on, it seems that attitudes are softening and the 'shock of the new' is no longer so much of a shock.

I do though disagree with you on one point. I like the 'logo' at 9 o'clock. :oops: as its different. Nevertheless, 'Christopher Ward' on two lines with a centre justification @ 12 o'clock will be more normal and, no doubt, far more accepted by the forum family.

Just my two pence worth.

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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by hughesyn »

I agree with you.

Website, advertising style, magazine, etc. all good.

For the watches themselves, logo text would be much, much better centered at 12.
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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by Tyke »

No, it's not just the logo.

Problems are/were

The logo - font & left justification
Its positioning

Badly arranged website with;
Missing items
Missing sections
Watches in the wrong section
Trite & misleading watch descriptions
Inane comments about 'no batteries required'
Abuse / belittling of other companies & their products
Ill advised use of celebrity comparisons
Incorrect product pictures
Trashing of Quartz watches in general
Poor choice of imagery
Dead & missing links

General rebranding;
Concentration on using buzz phrases and hip comments incompatible with the products
Trashing of company heritage
Faux quality comments

All contributing to a launch that gave a perception of shoddy amateurism, lack of thought, preparation and execution and an air that the company was ashamed of its past and quickly wanted to erase history. Personally, I think they are and should be better than this and they have paid far to much attention to advertising and PR people who have insufficient knowledge of how to position the company in a quality watch environment.

So, no, not just the logo.
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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by robinbarke »

See what you've done Terminator or was it your intention? Every new thread adds fuel to the fire. Anyway, most will agree, in my opinion, that Tyke is closer to the mark. Why don't we just leave it there?

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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by golfjunky »

I'm with Tyke
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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by Terminator 2 »

Tyke wrote:No, it's not just the logo.

Problems are/were

The logo - font & left justification
Its positioning

Badly arranged website with;
Missing items
Missing sections
Watches in the wrong section
Trite & misleading watch descriptions
Inane comments about 'no batteries required'
Abuse / belittling of other companies & their products
Ill advised use of celebrity comparisons
Incorrect product pictures
Trashing of Quartz watches in general
Poor choice of imagery
Dead & missing links

General rebranding;
Concentration on using buzz phrases and hip comments incompatible with the products
Trashing of company heritage
Faux quality comments

All contributing to a launch that gave a perception of shoddy amateurism, lack of thought, preparation and execution and an air that the company was ashamed of its past and quickly wanted to erase history. Personally, I think they are and should be better than this and they have paid far to much attention to advertising and PR people who have insufficient knowledge of how to position the company in a quality watch environment.

So, no, not just the logo.
I would liked to have edited that but you make a lot of valid points so its hard to strip your post down for quotes so I am quoting it all Tyke.

I hear you I really do Tyke. I have read those critcisms and not just here but as bahnstormer said most of those comments are now softening. The main issue still seems to be the logo. Magazines will be replaced and the website will improve as mistakes are spotted but if a lot of people hate the product then it is all over. The product also has to be improved if mistakes are made.

I agree that the buzz words and hip comments grate with the general population but that is what a lot of marketing **** do and always have done. Common sense that most of us have teaches us to just ignore it. Like you I do not get why companies like CW fall for this cr*p but they do. Hey though there are people who buy from shopping channels and I dont get that either. Maybe some of the suits at CW Towers also buy from shopping channels lol. The problem might be that those coming up with the marketing ideas dont actually understand the market they are trying to sell to. Their idea of a watch is probably a Fitbit or Smart Watch. You mentioned the trashing of quartz watches and that is probably an example of no understanding of the market. I believe those images however were not actually sanctioned by CW and appeared as mockups by a Hello employee but if I am wrong on that feel free to correct me.

I cant argue with the Faux quality comment though. That was absolutly stupid. Never criticise your customers even though you do not intend to do so. There is a man called Ratner that can tell you all about that.

However I am sure we can all get over most of what you mentioned and put it behind us but CW will also have to make some compromises too. Perhaps recent spokespersons should take a back seat for a while and let Chris do a little bit of damage limitation for a while.
See what you've done Terminator or was it your intention? Every new thread adds fuel to the fire. Anyway, most will agree, in my opinion, that Tyke is closer to the mark. Why don't we just leave it there?

Robin
Not really worthy of a response Robin. I think this is about my 6th post since the rebrand was launched. I started this thread in response to this one.

http://www.christopherwardforum.com/vie ... =1&t=37520

I have not contributed to that because its starting to go too far. I noticed you happily contributed to that thread too though. Nuff said Robin.

:roll:
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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by golfjunky »

I think the anger comes from the fact that we all think that none of the stupid mistakes in the relaunch should of happened at all. They were really stupid and gave to me a massive sign of amateurism.
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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by Tyke »

Hi Terminator

Thanks for your reasoned reply. My comment about the trashing of quartz was only partly directed at Hello, there were comments from a certain party at CW who jumped on that bandwagon basically calling them 'not proper watches'

It will all move on, however the most disappointing thing for me was that CW is hugely reliant on its internet frontage, so surely the most critical aspect was to get that right & tested before launch, not have to rely on the eagle eyes and free goodwill of Forum members to rectify things for them, something that has received very little recognition for all the work fellow forumites put in on their behalf.

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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by bobbubka »

Personally, my view isn't softening. I can only comment so many times regarding my view - that doesn't mean it has changed or softened. It's just kind of there now and old news.


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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by reggie747 »

Just curious.....
How can you state the word "****" then edit the word "cr*p" ?
If you're gonna give it both barrels, then give it both barrels ! :lol:
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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by Terminator 2 »

reggie747 wrote:Just curious.....
How can you state the word "****" then edit the word "cr*p" ?
If you're gonna give it both barrels, then give it both barrels ! :lol:
Well you see **** is British slang so at least our overseas chums can google it to get the meaning if they are not sure. If I had used Tw*t they might have thought I meant twit. Cr*p however is globally recognised lol. Thanks for the laugh Reggie.

:lol: :wink:
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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by gatehealing »

Agreed with too much negativity when it's mean-spirited. Accurate complaints are fine as they will help CWL if they'll listen to them.

I'll summarize my take on it: it's the logo and its placement, and a general vibe of amateur-ism (mainly website and magazine feedback all rolls in to this word).
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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by bitfield »

Terminator 2 wrote:If Im honest all comments that I see that are negative both here and elsewhere are mostly focusing on the logo, style and positioning. I am not really seeing comments that are negative re the actual relaunch/rebrand apart from the odd "hipster" comment.
No, that's fair enough. The relaunch/rebrand was fine. It's just the logo, font, positioning, justification, size, marketing copy, website, and PR that's gone wrong.

I don't think people are looking to criticise CWL just out of negativity; I think it's more that they really care about the brand and the company, and they're worried about the direction it seems to be taking.
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Re: I take it the problem IS just the logo then????

Post by Timinwales »

Tyke wrote:No, it's not just the logo.

Problems are/were

The logo - font & left justification
Its positioning

Badly arranged website with;
Missing items
Missing sections
Watches in the wrong section
Trite & misleading watch descriptions
Inane comments about 'no batteries required'
Abuse / belittling of other companies & their products
Ill advised use of celebrity comparisons
Incorrect product pictures
Trashing of Quartz watches in general
Poor choice of imagery
Dead & missing links

General rebranding;
Concentration on using buzz phrases and hip comments incompatible with the products
Trashing of company heritage
Faux quality comments

All contributing to a launch that gave a perception of shoddy amateurism, lack of thought, preparation and execution and an air that the company was ashamed of its past and quickly wanted to erase history. Personally, I think they are and should be better than this and they have paid far to much attention to advertising and PR people who have insufficient knowledge of how to position the company in a quality watch environment.

So, no, not just the logo.
Pretty much what my fellow Yorkie Tyke said, very eloquently put sir, and sums it up quite nicely...

I've avoided comment on the Faux word to date... But let's be honest, if they are now saying that their product is a faux luxury or quality product, when we all bought it in good faith .. Because it was sold as a genuine luxury/quality product.. Surely they aren't shocked by the reaction.. Because they shouldn't be.. It beggars belief tbh
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