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a strong factor of exclusivity, prestige and affluence. In the Internet vir-
tual world, the notion of location has been rendered irrelevant by the mass
availability and accessibility of uniform website content irrespective of
the user's location. The Internet as a whole became a universal destina-
tion and the websites existing in its sphere jointly became collective nodes
of this destination. The universal nature of the Internet means that there is
no location-based exclusivity, no prestige drawn from surroundings and
no affluence depicted by the size of the website or the status of the visi-
tors. Every website has equal opportunities for existence and visibility, and
issues like company size or the number of loyal clients are irrelevant for the
existence of a website. This has meant that the only opportunities for luxury
brands to distinguish themselves online was through creating powerful web-
sites with rich content and a unique atmosphere that would immerse the user
in the brand's universe.
These characteristics of the Internet, which have been well, established
and accepted in the twenty years of its existence, are being challenged by the
arrival of a newly created website, The Watch Avenue (thewatchavenue.com)
(Figure 9.1).
Piloted by the
Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie
(The Foundation for
High Watchmaking) and developed as a collective effort of the mem-
ber brands - Rolex, Tag Heueur, Vachern Constantin, Longines, Hublot,
Tissot, Audemars Piguet, Chanel, Piaget and several others - the website
was created to break every rule of luxury website creation. It discarded
the approach of static pages in 2-D that provide limited interactivity but,
rather, went for a complete 3-D format that provides a full immersive
experience. It opted for genuine humans with real body movements over
lifeless avatars and introduced a mix of natural sounds instead of playing
melodies. It chose to display real store images in 3-D instead of static pho-
tos and used embedded televisions to display videos and images instead of
pop-up windows. The website is created as a real virtual avenue complete
with everything you will find in a physical luxury shopping street, includ-
ing a line-up of stores with sumptuous window displays, a news stand, bill
boards, street signs, public seats, a small park and even trees and flying
birds not not to forget the habitual city sounds like cars honking, trains and
birds chirping. The set up of the website emphasizes an exclusive location
and invites a stroll down the two principal streets, First Avenue and Second
Avenue. The presence of a companion in the form of a young lady who
welcomes the user to the website and follows them as they move through
the street also provides a touch of human presence and complements the
natural environs.
Although it features information and no retail at this stage, the website
is an embodiment of interactivity and luxury brand immersion and has set a
precedent for the future direction of luxury websites.
