Ahmed Seddiqi
& Sons:
Dubai Watch
Week 2021
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The superfluous, a very necessary thing.
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Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons were seeking an agency to help them develop strategic experience strategy and design for Dubai Watch Week 2021. What we ended up doing was not only that, but, as industry outsiders, to make sense of horology’s place in the modern era.
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Our research revealed a thriving a wonderfully, whimsical culture full of paradoxes, artistry and flights of fancy. Where other industries seek to streamline, converge and drive efficiency across all sectors, horology is busy ignoring all that “logic” and instead celebrates complications, traditions and the utterly superfluous.
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Our task and the opportunity; was to spread this new-found appreciation with the masses and widen the appeal of horology to the uninitiated. Hence, our strategy and design needed to deliver a holistic and consistent experience across three scales; the “broad” event master plan, the “macro” visitor experience, and the “micro” human emotive and informative level to the everyday person
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Horology simply does not need to exist, we do not need watches. If we wear one it probably doesn’t need to be made of cogs and go to the bottom of the sea. And we love that. It flies in the face of “reason” and “needs” and does what it does, because it “can”.
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We uncovered many amazing paradoxes, not just within the horology industry, but in prior DWW events too. We saw Dubai Watch Week becoming a nexus of contrasting, complimentary, currents all converging in one place at one time. This gave us a very clear positioning. That Dubai Watch week is the “Curious Confluence”.
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Our own appreciation for horology was gained via our existing appreciations, namely design. The key then was to identify our audiences’ “appreciation entry points”. This saw us invite satellite industries into the fold. Horology, automotive, technology, fashion, art, sculpture, photography. Their essence all emanate from the same place and if you appreciate one, the
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The event was a huge hit, with over 16,000 people in attendance every day, for five days from all walks of life. From industry insiders, to curious residents, to watch aficionados to those just in the market for a good time. The fact that the event was, and will always be a nonprofit, non-commercial event allowed the brands to let their hair down and provide a true “horological experience”.
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The Curious Confluence proved the perfect moniker for the atmosphere. So much so that future events will take place under the same creative theme. The beauty of the strategy is that it must always take in the current Zeitgeist and thus always remain relevant.
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Furthermore, it was an opportunity to build the brand in real-time with new applications being created, refined and adopted between the two teams. The only aspect we missed was the limited edition, gold-leafed, fois gras, chipotle mayo burger comes to fruition. Roll on 2023.