Timex, Walt Disney, Mickey Mantle & the Ironman Triathlon Watch
Timex Marketing Milestones
The Ironman Triathlon watch has been a huge success story for Timex. The Ironman is another demonstration of how focus on specific niches within the watch industry has been paid off for them for nearly 80 years.
Timex has been intelligent in it's marketing decisions over the years and it's fascinating to look at each landmark event. Every turning point in the historyof Timex shows how the Timex watch came to be an American icon and an internationally famous brand by thinking outside the square.
Ingersoll-Waterbury (later to become Timex) entered a contract with Walt Disney in 1933 to manufacture Mickey Mouse clock when the company close to bankruptcy.
The Chicago World's Fair was held in 1933 and Ingersoll took the new Mickey Mouse watch directly to the public. A small assembly line where people could see their Mickey Mouse watch being made in front of their eyes and wear it when it was finished created a stir. The watches were inexpensive, just a couple of dollars and they sold fast.
The first Timex watch was produced in 1950. Timex created a controversy by providing a mechanised display which dipped the watch into water, then banged it with a hammer.
Marketing direct to the public worked for Timex and soon a new style of advertisement was created. The Torture Test which would continue for many years fuelled by publicity and debate. Timex watches were put through punishing trials by famous sports stars and always came up ticking.
A Timex watch was repeatedly hit by Mickey Mantle during a practice session after being taped to his baseball bat in one very famous example, and occasionally ordinary people would be asked to put the Timex through a wash cycle or some other type of severe testing.
1984 was an Olympic year and in that year Timex released the first Triathlon watch.
20 million dollars was spent on television advertising for the launch of the Triathlon watch. Using the formula from the Torture Test ads, these new ads demonstrated the watches strength and 50 metre diving capability.
The watch sold well and the company decided to test the market further by taking an improved version to the Ironman Triathlon contest in Hawaii the following year. The Ironman watches were taken to the contest were a success and demand from athletes was enormous.
Timex agreed to become the major sponsor for the event,which was still relatively unknown.
In 1986 the first year of their sponsorship Timex were favoured by huge publicity when an anonymous donor gave $100,00 prize money to the race. The rest is history - the Ironman Triathlon is now a worldwide event and the name is trademarked.
Timex early cementing of their relationship with the race put them in the lead a world class manufacturer of innovative sports watches. The Ironman Triathlon Watch has been in production ever since and continually improves with new cutting edge features, such as DataLink, Indiglo and Timex Heart Rate Monitor.
Indiglo technology was added to the watch range in 1992. Indiglo Night-Light revolutionised watch illumination and was activated at the touch of a button. Providing campers, police and sportsmen a brilliant glow which illuminated the entire watch face. The Indiglo watch was a phenomenon and the idea was soon copied by other watch companies.
Fortune and Business Week named Indiglo a product of the year in 1993. 75% of Timex watches used Indiglo technology within a year and sales rocketed.
Over 1 Billion Timex watches had been sold around the world by 2003. In the face of radical change to our society and fashions Timex never missed a beat. They have positioned themselves where the opportunities lay and have been leaders in the industry. "Life is ticking..."
Timex has been intelligent in it's marketing decisions over the years and it's fascinating to look at each landmark event. Every turning point in the historyof Timex shows how the Timex watch came to be an American icon and an internationally famous brand by thinking outside the square.
Ingersoll-Waterbury (later to become Timex) entered a contract with Walt Disney in 1933 to manufacture Mickey Mouse clock when the company close to bankruptcy.
The Chicago World's Fair was held in 1933 and Ingersoll took the new Mickey Mouse watch directly to the public. A small assembly line where people could see their Mickey Mouse watch being made in front of their eyes and wear it when it was finished created a stir. The watches were inexpensive, just a couple of dollars and they sold fast.
The first Timex watch was produced in 1950. Timex created a controversy by providing a mechanised display which dipped the watch into water, then banged it with a hammer.
Marketing direct to the public worked for Timex and soon a new style of advertisement was created. The Torture Test which would continue for many years fuelled by publicity and debate. Timex watches were put through punishing trials by famous sports stars and always came up ticking.
A Timex watch was repeatedly hit by Mickey Mantle during a practice session after being taped to his baseball bat in one very famous example, and occasionally ordinary people would be asked to put the Timex through a wash cycle or some other type of severe testing.
1984 was an Olympic year and in that year Timex released the first Triathlon watch.
20 million dollars was spent on television advertising for the launch of the Triathlon watch. Using the formula from the Torture Test ads, these new ads demonstrated the watches strength and 50 metre diving capability.
The watch sold well and the company decided to test the market further by taking an improved version to the Ironman Triathlon contest in Hawaii the following year. The Ironman watches were taken to the contest were a success and demand from athletes was enormous.
Timex agreed to become the major sponsor for the event,which was still relatively unknown.
In 1986 the first year of their sponsorship Timex were favoured by huge publicity when an anonymous donor gave $100,00 prize money to the race. The rest is history - the Ironman Triathlon is now a worldwide event and the name is trademarked.
Timex early cementing of their relationship with the race put them in the lead a world class manufacturer of innovative sports watches. The Ironman Triathlon Watch has been in production ever since and continually improves with new cutting edge features, such as DataLink, Indiglo and Timex Heart Rate Monitor.
Indiglo technology was added to the watch range in 1992. Indiglo Night-Light revolutionised watch illumination and was activated at the touch of a button. Providing campers, police and sportsmen a brilliant glow which illuminated the entire watch face. The Indiglo watch was a phenomenon and the idea was soon copied by other watch companies.
Fortune and Business Week named Indiglo a product of the year in 1993. 75% of Timex watches used Indiglo technology within a year and sales rocketed.
Over 1 Billion Timex watches had been sold around the world by 2003. In the face of radical change to our society and fashions Timex never missed a beat. They have positioned themselves where the opportunities lay and have been leaders in the industry. "Life is ticking..."
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