Faking the cool

Mont Blanc has been known for generations as a maker of high-quality pens and other writing tools. As a teenager becoming aware of the world of prestige and luxury, Mont Blanc was to me an exterior sign of success, a typical gift any business(wo)man wannabe would get for Christmas or for the 50 y.old birthday, etc.

With the development of computers, sales of writing instruments probably fell and Mont Blanc certainly saw its main source of revenue dry out by the year... In any economical case, Mont Blanc shareholders would put the pressure to develop the company's activities.

As a strategy result, we have seen the product range expanding the past few years. Instead of remaining in the writing and business segment, they started to sell accessories such as belts, jewellery, eyewear, perfume, cologne and watches.

Everyone knows Mont Blanc in the world; the value of the brand is so high that they couldn't let it die with pen's usage or become a small niche market. This is why they work hard to convince us thanks to heavy marketing that Mont Blanc jewels are as great as Chanel Joaillerie or Van Cleef and Arpels.

Even though their pens are of a great craftmanship and their star shaped diamond is cutting-edge, I am very anxious to know whether the marketing will manage to convince us that they are jewel makers...

I am always very suspicious when a brand is heavily featured in magazines through ads but almost inexistent in the editorial pages. So, I made a mini survey among my friends, from all different genders and personnalities. The biggest result was that Mont Blanc still has a very established reputation, almost old-fashion and the second was that most people would rather buy competitors jewellery than Mont Blanc's for they are not perceived as professionals.

I am anxious to see how the brand will evolve and see whether the strategy was right or if one can't fake the COOL FACTOR...