An Integrated Marketing Campaign for a Rolex Hybrid Smartwatch
OVERVIEW
A $30M integrated campaign for the Rolex New Age — the maison's first hybrid smartwatch, built in collaboration with Google and launched in the UK where the luxury watch market is worth £1.2B.
Rolex is one of the most disciplined brands in the world; the brief wasn't only to propose a new product, but to build the integrated marketing campaign that would launch it to a younger audience without diluting the brand.
Developed in SCAD’s LXMT 742 Advertising Luxury studio under Professor Keys, with Ishita Yadav, Zhenyi Zhao, and Nissi Meesala Isaac.
PROBLEM
A younger audience is not a younger watch. The question was how to speak to an emerging Rolex buyer — one who has grown up on connected devices and community-driven discovery — without diluting the cultural weight the brand already carries.
- The product had to feel continuous with Rolex, not a concession to a category trend
- The marketing had to find the younger audience in its own environments, not pull it into legacy ones
- The launch had to read as an earned cultural moment, not a category defense
The hybrid smartwatch was the vehicle. The real project was the marketing plan that would tell a younger audience a Rolex still meant something to them.
DECISIONS
The IMC was built in two layers — a primary digital-first mix for conversion and a secondary experiential/print mix for cultural weight. The two work in synergy: the primary mix exposes audiences, the secondary mix earns them.
Social — Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
Primary channel for engaging younger, tech-savvy audiences. Partnerships with creators including Joe Sugg, Zoe Sugg, and Victoria Magrath, plus TikTok lifestyle creators.
London Marathon 2025 Sponsorship
The secondary mix's centerpiece. Full sponsorship, on-course VIP lounge, and branded merchandise. Turns Rolex's precision equity into a live demonstration for an endurance-minded audience that already respects the brand's codes.
Celebrity & Influencer Partnerships
Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer, Romesh Ranganathan, and Victoria Magrath. The mix blends heritage Rolex ambassadors with younger voices — bridging the brand inheritance to the new audience.
Print & Broadcast — Vogue UK, British GQ, Tatler, BBC One, ESPN
Vogue UK carries the collab story; British GQ features the design case; Tatler reaches the existing Rolex client. BBC One and ESPN anchor Wimbledon, F1, and international sport slots.
Budget — $30M top-down
Allocated against Rolex's $100M annual advertising spend. Largest lines: London Marathon 15%, TikTok 14%, Instagram / Facebook / YouTube 12% each, OOH 10%.
OUTPUT
A campaign built around one premise — every milestone deserves a crown. The film drops the static stillness of traditional Rolex campaigns for slice-of-life energy: the watch inside modern life, cut into 15–30 second segments tailored to audience segments.
Every milestone deserves a crown — Rolex New Age.
REFLECTION
An extension is not a new product — it is a new conversation. The New Age worked because the IMC around it made the younger audience feel included in the Rolex dream, not sold a concession to it.
