Rolex's Apprentice Program and Advent Calendar Marketing
⌚ “Watch University” — Rolex’s apprenticeship. Advent Calendar Marketing. Ken Burns’ loooong strategy. +3am Cyber Monday.
Resources
Books
- "The American Revolution" by Ken Burns - Mentioned as a new documentary that competes with short-form content like TikTok, proving the power of long-form storytelling.
Videos & Documentaries
- "The American Revolution" by Ken Burns - This is the subject of the third story, highlighting Ken Burns' storytelling approach and the documentary's length and production time.
- "The Civil War" by Ken Burns - Listed as one of Ken Burns' past works.
- "Baseball" by Ken Burns - Listed as one of Ken Burns' past works.
- "Lewis and Clark" by Ken Burns - Listed as one of Ken Burns' past works.
- "American Jazz" by Ken Burns - Listed as one of Ken Burns' past works.
- "Mark Twain" by Ken Burns - Listed as one of Ken Burns' past works.
- "Muhammad Ali" by Ken Burns - Listed as one of Ken Burns' past works.
- "The Brooklyn Bridge" by Ken Burns - Listed as one of Ken Burns' past works, and noted as his first.
Research & Studies
- Rolex Apprentice Program - A 50-year-old program that trains watchmakers and contributes to the health of the entire luxury watch industry.
- Cyber Monday Shopping Data (Zip Finance) - Indicates that 48% of shoppers make big purchases after midnight, and 1 in 15 e-commerce purchases happen between midnight and 6:00 AM.
Tools & Software
- Framer - A website building platform that offers a free canvas-based design tool for creating production-ready websites.
- Monarch - An all-in-one dashboard for calculating net worth, spending, and budgets, linking various financial accounts.
Articles & Papers
- Esquire Magazine Interview - The source of the rare public comment from the CEO of Rolex.
People Mentioned
- Jean-Frederic Dufour (CEO of Rolex) - Discussed for his secretive approach to business decisions and his rare public comments.
- Tom Hanks - Mentioned as part of the voice acting cast for Ken Burns' "The American Revolution."
- Meryl Streep - Mentioned as part of the voice acting cast for Ken Burns' "The American Revolution."
- George Washington - Mentioned in the context of Ken Burns' documentary and his status as the richest American and head of the army.
- Martha Stewart - Announced as American Eagle's newest denim ambassador.
- Trevor Baldwin - Happy birthday wish.
- Karen Hobbs - Happy birthday wish.
- Kimmin's Nanas - Congratulations on a new job.
- Brandon Nemo - Good luck with a new job.
Organizations & Institutions
- Rolex - Discussed for its successful business strategy, particularly its apprenticeship program and its surprisingly positive relationship with the Apple Watch market.
- Apple Watch - Mentioned as a catalyst for Rolex's sales growth by expanding the "wrist market."
- Apple - Competitor to traditional watchmakers, but surprisingly beneficial to Rolex.
- Volkswagen - Mentioned as an example of an American company with European roots introducing an apprenticeship model.
- Chattanooga State Community College - Partners with Volkswagen for worker training.
- Bonne Maman - A French jam brand that successfully uses advent calendars.
- Kraft Heinz - Mentioned for offering an advent calendar with cheese.
- Armani Perfumes - Mentioned as a brand using advent calendars.
- Stouffer's Frozen Food - Mentioned as a brand using advent calendars.
- Lego - Mentioned as a brand using advent calendars.
- Skims - Kim Kardashian's brand, mentioned for its underwear advent calendar.
- Johnny Walker - Mentioned for its whiskey advent calendar.
- Swarovski - Mentioned for its crystal advent calendar.
- Bergdorf's - A store where a Swarovski crystal advent calendar was found.
- Meta - Reportedly switching from Nvidia chips to Google chips.
- Nvidia - Stock dropped due to Meta's reported chip switch.
- Google - Chips are reportedly being used by Meta, and their "mojo" is relentless.
- American Eagle - Signed Martha Stewart for a sponsorship deal.
- Amazon - Hired 250,000 seasonal human workers for the holiday surge.
- PBS - A non-profit organization with which Ken Burns produces his documentaries.
- The Middle Ages Guilds - The historical origin of apprenticeships.
Courses & Educational Resources
- Rolex Apprentice Program - A three-year program that offers 900 different courses and pays apprentices while they learn.
Websites & Online Resources
- www.vitalproteins.com - Mentioned for collagen and peptide products.
- Framer.com/design - Website to start creating for free.
- www.airbnb.com/host - Website for potential hosts to learn about hosting.
- Monarch.com - Website to use code TBOI for half off the first year.
- Tboypod.com/shop - Website to purchase the Yeti doll.
- Wonderry.com/survey - Website for listeners to fill out a survey.
Other Resources
- Advent Calendar - Discussed as a marketing hack that originated from a religious tradition and is now used by various brands.
- The Ken Burns Effect - A filmmaking style named after Ken Burns, characterized by panning across photographs.
- Cyber Monday - Discussed as a record-breaking e-commerce day, with a significant portion of sales occurring in the early morning hours.
- Green Wednesday - A day in the week before Thanksgiving.
- Thanksgiving Thursday - The day of Thanksgiving.
- Black Friday - The day after Thanksgiving.
- Small Business Saturday - The Saturday after Thanksgiving.
- Giving Tuesday - The Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
- Sunday after Thanksgiving - Mentioned as the only day in the seven days leading up to Christmas without a nickname, prompting listener suggestions.
- Yeti Doll - A product sold by the podcast hosts as an "economic support toy."