The Financial Review About Time Watch Weekend has cemented its status as Australia’s prestige watch event, after 1000-odd subscribers and readers attended the event in both Sydney and Melbourne. 

Fifteen of the world’s top watchmakers from Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Japan participated in About Time, which was held for the first time in Melbourne on September 14 and 15, before moving to Sydney on September 21 and 22. 

More than 920 subscribers and readers of the Financial Review registered to attend the event, which consisted of hourly activations in watchmakers’ CBD boutiques. Activities ranged from hands-on workshops run by watchmakers to showcases of historical and heritage timepieces. Swim stars Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson, both OMEGA ambassadors, also appeared in Q&A sessions. 

“About Time is becoming a signature event for the Financial Review and a key moment in the calendar for the watch industry,” said AFR Magazine editor Matthew Drummond. “A highlight for me were the sessions with our Watch Editor, Bani McSpedden, at which he discussed trends in the industry and what had caught his eye at About Time.” 

Bani McSpedden said: “When it comes to stimulating sales, there’s nothing like seeing a watch in the metal, on the wrist, something that exposure on social media can never match.

Events such as About Time are just the tonic the industry needs, bringing new timepieces and the stories behind them directly to prospective buyers.”

Participating watch brands included Cartier, Chopard, Grand Seiko, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget, Ralph Lauren, and Vacheron Constantin. Joining the event for the first time were A Lange & Sohne, Bulgari, Girard-Perregaux, Longines, Omega and Tudor. Almost 3400 appointments to brands’ hourly activations were booked across the two weekends, with attendees signing up for an average of 3.5 appointments each.

Society in Melbourne and The Charles Grand Brasserie in Sydney were venue partners for About Time, with attendees enjoying complimentary snacks and wines from Handpicked Wines as beverage partner. About Time merchandise was also sold via The Store. 

“About Time represents a significant innovation in the way we work with luxury advertisers to engage our Financial Review subscribers and readers directly, beyond the page and screen,” said Chloe Moo, Nine Publishing’s Client Director of Luxury. “The Watch Weekend’s mobilisation of affluent and influential subscribers within the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs is a strong demonstration that our premium audiences have an active appetite for watches and accessing exceptional experiences, especially when facilitated through their trusted publication.”

A unique feature of About Time is that it is exclusively promoted on AFR channels – the Financial Review newspaper, afr.com, and AFR Magazine – thereby ensuring a high calibre of attendees. As well as promotion through editorial, the event was amplified through digital and print ads as well as eDMs to the Financial Review’s subscriber base. Just under 2000 appointments were booked in the first seven hours via an eDM sent to subscribers in Sydney and Melbourne. 

With The Australian Financial Review Magazine dominating Australia’s monthly magazine insert readership figures – it has a print readership of 500,000 according to Roy Morgan’s last figures – About Time builds on Nine’s strong growth in the luxury category. 

For further information, please contact:
Adrian Motte
Senior Communications Manager – Trade & Publishing
amotte@nine.com.au

Tuesday, September 24, 2024