It’s been said that there is a fine line between promotion and advertising. In some languages, the words “propaganda” and “advertising” are the same word!
Nevertheless, promotion of a store or a brand has great “worth.” We were very honored when Seiko asked our store to be one of the original four in the entire U.S. to be authorized dealers for Grand Seiko, a particularly expensive segment of the brand that includes some of the finest watches in the world. Grand Seiko timepieces start at $4,000 — and we have actually sold some limited-edition gold ones for $25,000.
When the folks at Seiko found out that I was friendly with KISS (the band), Seiko reached out to me to do something special at the KISS appearance at Bhudokan in Tokyo, Seiko’s home base. They asked if I could get an expensive Seiko Astron on the wrist of Gene, Paul and Eric. Somehow, I made it happen. I was sitting backstage in Tokyo waiting for the high-level executive (senior vice president of Seiko … a seriously serious guy) to arrive with the watches. When he arrived, he was all business. Black suit, power tie, square black briefcase, big black glasses. I asked him if he and his assistant wanted a drink. He curtly replied, “No, we are just here to deliver watches.” Did he want to stay for the show? “No, we are just here to deliver watches.” Did he want backstage passes? “No, we are just here to deliver watches.” Did he want to meet Paul, Eric and the band? “No, we are just here to deliver watches.”
In other words, a real tight a**. No smiles, all business. I asked him to at least make a presentation with me to KISS, and at that very moment, KISS came into the room fresh from makeup. I asked Mr. All Business and his two assistants to stand in front of KISS for a quick photo, and at the exact moment I took the picture, Gene Simmons grabbed Mr. All Business in a chokehold.
And that’s when Mr. All Business suddenly became a teenager again.
Always buying vintage Seiko chronographs. All Rights Reserved.
