How Premium Brands Create Demand Without Cutting Their Prices | Tom La Vecchia

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice

Episode: How Premium Brands Create Demand Without Cutting Their Prices | Tom La Vecchia
Host: Ryan Alford (The Radcast Network)
Guest: Tom Levesque (Founder, X Factor Media and New Theory Magazine)
Date: June 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode explores how premium and luxury brands—specifically through the rumored Audemars Piguet (AP) and Swatch collaboration—create massive demand and engagement without resorting to price slashing or risk of dilution. Ryan Alford and guest Tom Levesque dissect the strategies behind cross-brand collaborations, the redefinition of exclusivity, and how brands stay culturally relevant in today’s hyper-connected landscape. The conversation delves into owning distribution channels, the nuances of male consumer behavior, and the critical importance of playing the long-term brand game.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Building Media and Attention from the Ground Up

[01:43 – 04:33]

• Tom’s journey building X Factor Media and acquiring New Jersey Digest (a hyperlocal publication) to control their own distribution and build tangible media equity.
• Tom reflects on the inadequacies of local media buys and how going digital, especially during COVID, unlocked exponential growth:
  • Quote (03:11, Tom): “It’s just we were doing local media buying for our clients and I was terribly under impressed… So I said well wait a second, why can’t we do this ourselves?”
• Importance of owning media and not being solely beholden to “rented” attention (Meta, Google):
  • Quote (06:58, Tom): “Own distribution is really important… When you control the channel, it’s less dependent on Meta and Google.”

2. Local Media vs. National Giants

[06:43 – 08:00]

• Shift from hyperlocal print to digital dominance; X Factor Media now reaches 1.5 million people monthly.
• Competing not with local rags, but with national advertising budgets:
  • Quote (06:43, Tom): “The truth is we’re not competing with the other rag down the street. We’re competing with Meta ads and Google Ads.”
• The value of curating content for loyal audiences as a foundation for powerful brand and advertiser relationships.

3. The AP x Swatch Collaboration: Rethinking Exclusivity and Demand

[08:29 – 13:41]

• Using the rumored AP and Swatch partnership as a case study for modern brand tactics:
  • AP gives a taste of luxury to the masses without sacrificing its ‘grail’ status.
  • Seeding aspiration early among young buyers:
    • Quote (08:41, Tom): “Luxury today isn’t about ownership. It’s about participation… The AP buyer 10, 15 years from now is going to look at the Royal Oak in a nostalgic fashion when they can afford the 50, 60K Royal Oak.”
• The difference between premium (Rolex) and true luxury (AP)—cultural position matters:
  • Quote (10:18, Tom): “Rolex is a premium watch… AP is a luxury watch. The difference between a Maybach and an S Class.”
• How earned media, borrowed interest, and the democratization of “the vibe” drive massive engagement—and that exclusivity is now more emotional than purely financial:
  • Quote (14:32, Tom): “Exclusivity nowadays is emotional, it’s not just financial. Recognition actually increases that desire… There’s still only one Royal Oak.”

4. Lessons from Other Industries: Streetwear, Sneakers, Trading Cards

[13:41 – 14:32]

• The watch industry borrowing launch/’drop’ strategies from sneaker culture (e.g., Supreme, Nike, Travis Scott collabs):
  • Quote (13:41, Tom): “This got mastered in sneaker culture… The watch industry just caught up and said, ‘Hey, you know what? The sneaker culture mastered this a few years ago. Let’s get on that train.’”
• Trading cards following similar paths—strategic borrowed interest as a growth lever.

5. Brand Loyalty, Nostalgia, and Long-Game Thinking

[19:38 – 21:48]

• The value of planting seeds for long-term purchase cycles—brands must play both today’s and tomorrow’s game:
  • Quote (20:13, Ryan): “AP played the young guys and girls… planting the seed, we’re keeping our brand relevant. They played the long game and actually ended up winning the short game.”
• Generational attachment: The young Swatch buyer today becomes the AP ‘grail’ buyer tomorrow.
• The shift in influencers for luxury watches—rap/celebrity culture is no longer the single powerful vector.

6. Brand Misses: Panerai & Breitling as Cautionary Tales

[15:07 – 17:29]

• While Rolex and AP soared during the pandemic watch boom, brands like Panerai and Breitling “missed the boat” by failing to lead with culture, collaboration, or reinvention:
  • Quote (15:59, Ryan): “They could have leaned heavy into this. They were asleep at the wheel… All these brands can do this without throwing the baby out with the bathwater…”

7. Male Consumer Behavior & Brand Strategy

[17:38 – 18:59]

• It’s expensive and nuanced to target men—brands that crack the code (attention-wise) punch above their weight.
  • Plastic surgery for men as an analogous case:
    • Quote (17:38, Tom): “Men follow the Blue Ocean Strategy… Your tastes change over the years.”
• Segmenting and reaching men is harder, but also an opportunity for outsized impact.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tom Levesque (03:11): “Why can’t we do this ourselves?... The idea really was to have an agency owned asset that we own.”
• Tom Levesque (06:43): “We’re not competing with the other rag down the street. We’re competing with meta ads and Google Ads.”
• Tom Levesque (08:41): “Luxury today isn’t about ownership. It’s about participation… having signal versus noise.”
• Tom Levesque (14:32): “Exclusivity nowadays is emotional, it’s not just financial.”
• Ryan Alford (20:13): “You do have to play the brand game… AP played the long game and actually ended up winning the short game.”
• Tom Levesque (13:41): “The watch industry just caught up and said, ‘Hey, you know what? The sneaker culture mastered this a few years ago. Let’s get on that train.’”
• Tom Levesque (15:59): "Breitling completely fell... They could have leaned heavy into this. They were asleep at the wheel."
• Tom Levesque (17:38): “Men follow the Blue Ocean strategy… it buttresses the point back to most of the men were going crazy over this for the royal pop, and they got all that earned media for men, which I would probably put a multiplier of 2x on there.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:43 – Tom’s background, X Factor Media’s model, building owned distribution
• 03:11 – Acquiring New Jersey Digest, pivoting from print to digital
• 06:43 – Competing with Meta/Google, value of curated local content
• 08:41 – Deep dive: AP x Swatch collab, redefining luxury & aspiration
• 10:18 – Premium vs. Luxury: Rolex and AP market positions
• 11:10 – Earned media value: AP x Swatch’s results, stock impacts
• 13:41 – Playbook borrowed from sneaker & street culture
• 14:32 – Emotional vs. financial exclusivity; signal vs. noise
• 15:07 – Watch industry winners & losers during COVID
• 17:38 – Insights on reaching and marketing to men
• 19:38 – Branding, the purchase funnel, and playing the long game
• 21:48 – Changing influencers: Rap, celebrity, and culture shifts

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Building and owning attention and media channels is critical for modern brands. Relying on rented distribution is risky and limits upside.
• Premium and luxury brands can “democratize the vibe”—collaborate and create aspirational products—without sacrificing core exclusivity or value.
• Success in branding is about playing the long game—creating demand among future buyers today.
• Borrowed interest, when strategic, accelerates growth and cultural resonance.
• Targeting male consumers effectively can yield disproportionate returns but requires a nuanced and tailored approach.
• The most successful contemporary brands are those capable of reinventing their own rules, leveraging culture, and embracing the power of attention.

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Transcript

[Tom Levesque]

Exclusivity nowadays is emotional. It's not just financial. And then what happens is recognition actually increases that desire. Swatch, it's a win. It elevates their brand. AP gets them out there inexpensively and people want it even more. A family member of mine has a Royal oak. I asked him right away, joking around, I said, great, I'm going to get mine for 400 bucks. And he laughed and he goes, hey, absolutely. It's going to be a beautiful watch. But there's still only one Royal Oak.

[Ryan Alford (Host Intro/Outro)]

You don't win by following the playbook. You win by rewriting it 700 episodes deep with the people who actually built something real. No theory, no fluff, no shortcuts. This is Right about now with Ryan Alford.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

What's up, guys? Welcome to right about now on today's episode. Right about now we're using the rumored AP and Swatch collaboration is a live case study into how modern brands strategize and use borrowed attention. Tom Levesque is the founder of X Factor Media and New Theory magazine. And he spent years working at the intersection of marketing, media, sales, customer behavior and brand positioning. In this conversation, it's not just about watches. It's about attention, exclusivity and cultural relevance. Tom, welcome. It's right about now. What's up, Tom? How you doing?

[Tom Levesque]

Great, Ryan. Pleasure to be here.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Hey, man, good to have you. Hey, the X Factor. You had me at X Factor. Good name. I like it. Got my attention. And more importantly, so is all the headlines that have been happening lately. I know you got a lot of opinions on them. We'll get at it. Where's home today?

[Tom Levesque]

I live in Scottish Plains, New Jersey. That's Union County, New Jersey. Anybody from that area? Westfield, Elizabeth area, not too far from Newark Airport.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah. What is X Factor? What are we doing?

[Tom Levesque]

X Factor Media is a full service digital marketing company. Been around for 12 years. We do media marketing, etc. We own some media properties, New Jersey Digest, Social Life, lifestyle magazine, and then take certain by invite only retainer clients, plastic surgery space, some other spaces. So we do a lot of branding, marketing, etc. But we also do stuff for ourselves as well. A lot of guys are marketing companies and it's like, well, what have done? Well, we do it for ourselves every day and then we try to do it for our clients as well.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah, that's the key and that's the difference. A lot of times the cobblers is it the cobbler's children have no shoes. Something like that.

[Tom Levesque]

With a leaky Pipe.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah, exactly. And I always found it interesting the social media agency that has three posts.

[Tom Levesque]

Yeah, we do social media marketing. We. Our largest account on Instagram has about 162,000 followers at NJ Digest if everybody wants to check it out, we do on TikTok, on YouTube, separate podcast, separate property, about 104,000 subs. So yeah, we walk the walk because again at the end of the day, if you can't do it, how do you do it for other people?

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah, exactly. One thing that may not have been directly what I will talking about with some of the things we're going to talk about a specific story. I think it's interesting with crossover brands and things like that, you bring up the fact that you started publications, you're an agency, but you started your own distribution for attention. I heard local and sort of national concepts. It almost sounded like I'd love to talk about that a little bit because that's pretty fascinating to me and I've experienced that you do it podcasting, which is, you know, the form of media. Talk to me about what you've done there.

[Tom Levesque]

I'd love to say it started out as some great MBA strategy driven type activity. It's just we were doing local media buying for our clients and I was terribly under impressed. Small email list, not a lot of engagement bought engagement, etc. So I said well wait a second, why can't we do this ourselves? New Jersey Digest actually was an acquisition. I acquired it in 2019. It's been around in New Jersey area, super hyper local and Hoboken. Not a good story, but a funny story if you will. Now it's funny. Is bought the publication late 19. Three months later Covid hit. All the advertisers dried up, but the loan didn't. It was literally a local small publication after kind of the Reader's Digest you put in your valise or your jacket. We had a publication which we had an abandoned. We said you know what, we're digital guys and gals, let's go digital, let's go Jersey wide. And we just struck the right course. Everybody was home, we got a huge amount of readership and we just kind of never looked back. We did maybe one or two print since but we stuck it digitally since and now we reach about a million and a half people a month. But the idea really was to have an agency owned asset that we own. Don't get me wrong, I love our agency clients and we're there to increase the revenue and we're there to trade time for money. And we do it and maximize their return the best we can. But it's about equity and ownership. And when you own the bricks, it makes it a little easier to function as an agency because you have more resources, frankly as well.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah, it's interesting playing both sides of the fence, selling the ads, coming up with the ads, and then owning the distribution point. But if you've got the eyeball, I mean, it doesn't really matter. If you're like me, you probably spend a lot of time paying attention to what's happening in the world markets, business, crypto, interest rates, sports, politics, all of it. I'm always looking at headlines thinking, okay, what happens next? That's honestly why I've been spending time on Gemini predictions. What makes it interesting is instead of just watching stories move the market in real time, you can actually trade on the outcomes of real world events. Maybe it's oil prices, what happens with the Fed, crypto movements, major sports events, or broader world headlines. There are live contracts across all kinds of categories. And what I like is it feels built for people who already think this way. If you naturally pay attention to trends, follow business news, or spend your day analyzing what's happening in the economy and markets, this gives you a completely different way to engage with it. The platform itself is also really straightforward. Everything runs directly through the Gemini app. The interface is clean, and there are new markets opening every day. I've been on there browsing different contracts and it's honestly just fun seeing how quickly things shift based on real world news and momentum. And again, it's not about just passively watching headlines anymore. You can actually participate in what you think happens next. To start trading right now, head to gemini.com predictions and browse through all available contracts. Attention's hard these days and it brings up even more things. I mean, I've been in the marketing business for 25 years and did a lot of local newspaper ads when I started early 2000s. That business has kind of gone the wayside of digital media. But local and hyperlocal is still. It's an interesting and underserved media media. Some markets do it better than others, but you've had national media sort of eating all this stuff up, but then suddenly the local market's not covered well.

[Tom Levesque]

Correct. The truth is we're not competing with the other rag down the street. We're competing with meta ads and Google Ads. For the most part, that's where the big money's going. At first it was hard to compete, but now it's on your media kit.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

As well.

[Tom Levesque]

Own distribution is really important. We have a really robust email list, almost about 500,000 people. When you control kind of the channel, it's less dependent on Met and Google.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

The rent.

[Tom Levesque]

Yeah, look at like BuzzFeed, a $7 billion valuation or $5 billion, whatever it was, maybe higher. And then now sold $20 million to 230 million. But pennies on a dollar.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah.

[Tom Levesque]

Byron Allen, because they relied on Meta heavily, where we're the opposite. We create our own channel. Don't get me wrong, we are a little bit of a hoven to Google discovery. I don't want to lie about that. That probably will never change. But we do our best, our own destiny. And the truth of the matter is, you can do a great meta ad, you can do a great Google Ad, very expensive. And the truth of the matter is, although it is local and you have their intent, it doesn't mean you're gonna get their actual sale. Versus for us, we curate the content. So by curating the content, you're almost curating the arty museum. And more than likely, if you know what people like, then you find the right advertiser for that. You do that without paying big bucks to Meta and Google and wasting a lot of money.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yep, it's a good point. It's very smart. That's in the playbook for sure. All right, switching gears a little bit. I had to ask you a little bit about that, Tom. Just a marketing dork in me. Luxury watches, watch collector. My myself. This one caught my attention with AP and Swatch. This is going to age me too, Tom. I grew up wearing Swatch watch. As a kid, it was like cool. And then it wasn't. And then now it's cool again. Like everything else, I'm waiting for members only. I think I'm still the last member, but that's got to come back. That comes back. I think I got some stuff in the closet somewhere.

[Tom Levesque]

Well, that had a little bit of a bump, I think, around the Sopranos time.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Swatch and ap, what's AP thinking? Are they giving up a luxury position? Are they just smarter than all of us?

[Tom Levesque]

That's a great lead in nowadays. You mentioned this. Luxury today isn't about ownership. It's about participation, having signal versus noise. And getting to those younger consumers who want access to these brands before they can afford them is really critical. It's a seating activity, as we call it, a marketing. As you know, the collaboration at this point allows millions of young people to get involved in the AP culture without dropping 50, 60K in the Royal Oak. Right. The idea is luxury brands. They have to create the aspiration and create their ecosystem before they convert. What they're doing is The AP buyer 10, 15 years from now is going to look at the Royal Oak in a nostalgic fashion when they can afford the 50, 60K Royal Oak. So this is a tremendous marketing activity and I see it. No any other way.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah, I'm torn on this one. I understand the tactic and I agree with fundamentally everything you just said, but I sort of toil a little bit with Rolex. Didn't have to do this 20 years ago, 30 years ago. And I know times change. That's probably what we're going to talk about. And social media has changed. There weren't the avenues, but sort of that aspiration was driven by how available or can you actually get a hold of it? And so if everybody can get a hold of it, does it have the same exclusivity? Does it carry that cachet forward the way that other brands and luxury brands have? Because it just wasn't attainable to get those. But you still had athletes and pop culture and musicians and artists and rappers and everyone else that created sort of that bling and doesn't demand desire. That's one level for. I'm talking about more the youth. And then now, if you kind of make it, we'll let it go. You got the Swatch version. Are we diluting the luxury?

[Tom Levesque]

Yeah, so. So that's a great point. And again, in traditional kind of marketing, if you will, that would resonate. And you and I would be correct. If that's our assertion, it could be more wrong in the current environment. I'll tell you why in terms of segmentation and I'll give you a bit of a hot take. And you're a watch collector, so get ready to throw your shoe at me. In my opinion, at this point, Rolex is a premium watch. I don't think anybody would disagree. However, AP is a luxury watch. The difference between a Maybach and an S Class, a Ferrari and a Maserati. So in terms of position positioning, as you know, this Rolex is a beautiful watch. I have a yacht master. I love it. Ki arrived. I kind of got it to the game. A little bit of respect and a little bit of the Panerai, a little bit of a breitling.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

But Rolex 25 years ago was. I'm not saying APs didn't exist then, but that was more the proxy. I agree with where you're going with where Rolex sits today.

[Tom Levesque]

I want to go one step further real quick as to my opinion that why the hype proved the strategy worked. So in today's market we just talked about this. Attention is the most valuable currency. Signal versus noise. Right off the bat, 11 billion plus views on social media. God knows what, their earned media value is probably north of a billion. No money on media buying. Swatch Stock rose almost 5% confirming that the collaboration not only worked but was profitable.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

I have no doubt. Good for Swatch.

[Tom Levesque]

Yeah, at least 150 million. And let's report that it may exceed $1 billion in total sales. Right now I think it's about sitting upwards between 150 to 300 million. But it didn't cheapen the brand. I'll tell you why. Ferrari sells merchandise. Porch sells SUVs. Rolex has TUD. You can segment what they did was and sound a little bit like a Gen Z or they democratize the vibe, not the grail. It kind of made it available, it kind of gave you a little bit of a taste. The truth of the matter is what prevents you or what allows you to buy something? Why do you buy something that 1956 IBM bands budget authority, need and timing. The barrier can't be higher for Royal okp. It's the budget. The guy or gal that can afford that can still afford that. And if they can't, they can't. Because the B in the budget is probably the highest barrier to entry. World oak aside for availability, the people that are going to own it may want to own it even more now because they have the real deal. Just imagine Ferrari rolled something out with Kia and they did a thousand vehicles for 35,000. Those thousand vehicles are going to sell. They're going to sell great for aftermarket, but that attention is great. You have that Kia, Ferrari, but I want the real one. It's going against everything you and I taught as marketers in the books, as experience, as agency owners, as our own marketers. But having the signal versus noise on this and having that level of earned media behind it, I think it was a huge win for both brands.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

I had to play the contrary there, Tom, but I do agree it was brilliant. I wanted people to hear both sides of that coin because I could have just started this and gone, Tom. It was brilliant, all that. But it was. Because literally you nailed it. It takes a different way to seed your brand to the youth than maybe it did when the availability of media was so sparse 40 years ago. You didn't have to. Brands didn't have to do this. And then you also didn't have the opportunity to do it now, to be able to do it, to plant the. See, like you said, I love the grail. The grail didn't change. They still want the $50,000 watch now. Doing this was brilliant for them too. It was a no brainer for them. It was more of a risk.

[Tom Levesque]

For ap, this got mastered in the sneaker culture and streetwear Supreme Nike sneakers, drops, Travis Scott collabs, scarcity, limited access, resale demand, the social flex, all that stuff. The watch industry just caught up and said, hey, you know what? The thinker culture mastered this a few years ago. Let's get on that train.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Exactly. And I'm the trading card shop that I own and trading cards are doing the same thing. Travis Scott collaborations, other collabs, other things. Some people don't like this term, but borrowed interest is powerful.

[Tom Levesque]

Yep.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

And some people frown upon it because they're arrogant and think they can carry the show themselves. But it's okay to share sunshine that someone else has and bring it over to your side. So I always love the right strategic borrowed interest. And I think in this case the media value alone like you talked about about, is just outrageous. Yeah.

[Tom Levesque]

And the truth of the matter is, doesn't this hurt exclusivity? You kind of mentioned that exclusivity nowadays is emotional, it's not just financial. And then what happens is recognition actually increases that desire Swatch. It's a win. It elevates their brand. AP gets them out there inexpensively and people want it even more. A family member of mine has a royal oak. I asked him right away, joking around, I said, great, I'm gonna get mine for 400 bucks. And he laughed and he goes, hey, absolutely, it's gonna be a beautiful watch. But there's still only one royal oak.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

I have one, but in my had out today because I was going to wear it on the show, it sat on my dresser. I have a couple of them to talk about watches.

[Tom Levesque]

And you being a watch guy, this is what brought watches back. Right. What happened was watches were dead for a while. I never wore a watch a lot of people didn't wear. Watches were probably similar age. Watches kind of had its run and then it retract and then it ran again. And then what happened was Apple created utility out of it. By creating the utility, everybody started wearing watches again. What happens whenever watches again? Well, I want to wear a better watch than him or her. I'm going to go ahead and buy a better watch. But You, I want a better watch than you. And it recreated that demand. And then, then the scarcity during the pandemic is what drove it to a different level. But again, there's certain watches that participated in that drive and ones that didn't. For example, Rolex won big time during COVID Two brands that didn't make it, at least in terms of the pisteria, were Panerai and Breitling. Both nice watches, both good watches. I would argue Panerai is more of a watch guy watch. But neither those participated versus the others skyrocketed. In your opinion, why is that?

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

I think they both missed the boat. I think Breitling really missed it because I think they were closer to this culture anyway with automobiles, wheels and everything else. They could have leaned heavy into this. They were asleep at the wheel pan ride. I don't know who's running it. That was my first watch. I'm a watch guy. That was my first good watch. I still love their watches. I wish they pushed the envelope more. They did it a little bit, but they barely have touched the surface. I think is a miss. It's easy to say, well, why didn't they do something like this? When the idea is out there, every good idea is obvious. Once it's done, they've missed the boat. I don't have a good rationale because if I was leading their marketing, they should have leaned in to being a little more hit hip and a little more available. All these brands can do this without throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. You could stay premium or luxury or super luxury just like we're seeing here, without giving away some of your core values and things like that. But just leaning into because I don't have an excuse for them and I love their watches. Breitling completely fell. They're kind of like close to the sun and it's almost like they never turned around. To look at it from a segment

[Tom Levesque]

standpoint, I felt that Breitling could have been your entry level premium watch. Right?

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah. 100, you're saying right in that, well, wheelhouse. And I don't know if they just thought they were higher than they were. I don't know.

[Tom Levesque]

Yeah, they pooped the bed. And then for Panerai, I think Panerai for a minute, no watch is probably better than I do. Panerai was going to be the watch guys watch, right. We just kind of walk around the Rolex. It's like the guy at the gym guy may work really hard to impress the ladies but then there's a guy at the gym who wants to press the ladies and guys because he wants other guys to be like, wow, what are you doing? What's going on?

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Most guys wear the watches for the other guys, not the girls. Actually, I just tell you, I do it because I just like to. I'm happily married. I don't need to impress anybody. But I know what that culture is because the girls don't even know.

[Tom Levesque]

There's something to be said here about this. In my agency life, one of our big clients is actually the leading plastic surgeon for men. He has three centers, and he just does. Men follow the Blue Ocean strategy. Twelve years ago, where everybody's kind of doing boobs and butts, he did Men, which people looked at us, we like we had 10 heads. As it evolved, at every dinner party, every meeting, every everything that they knew, what I did would pull me aside and say, hey, can you get me an appointment? I want this, this, and this taken care of. And the guy is killing it. You know, largest account. I could go on and on about it, but something to be said here, though, is men's interests have changed over the years. And you know this probably better than I do. It's hard to get to men, like for. So, for example, if we were to run a campaign selling anything to women or selling anything to men, men are inherently more expensive to get to. So this kind of buttresses the point back to most of the men were going crazy over this for the royal pop, and they got all that earned media for men, which I would probably put a multiplier of 2x on there. Because getting to men is harder than it is to women because your tastes change over the years.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah, totally agree. I think. Well stated. Other than kind of like this segment we're talking about, men just don't care as much. They do some things. And so you hone in on the things they do care about. But then there's some things that they can drive a Ferrari and have an ap, but they could care less what that brand of sweatpants are.

[Tom Levesque]

That's why we named our company X Factor, because everybody has that X factor. As to why they make a decision, I make no sense. I will wear the same T shirt from high school, but I'll throw $250 on a hand at blackjack. It makes sen to me, and I'm the guy spending the money. If you're trying to get to guys, segmentation is a little harder and is a little more expensive to get the guys. But also guys are very simple in terms of decision making. It's kind of binary. Even though it's a little harder, it's doable, the value beliefs and systems. But if you can fit in with that system or belief, you're going to sell to more men.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

The one observation that I have, and I tell people this all the time, I still believe there's a purchase funnel, even if it's a cycle or whatever. This is where playing branding still matters. And playing the brand game, we still have this short termism that goes on. And I understand it. Everybody needs to make money and everybody needs to literally make sales today with the marketing they're doing. I understand it, I own multiple businesses. I get it. You do have to play the brand game. And I think for AP especially, and I know they made a lot of sales, but they still were willing to play the long term game. Because not everyone is buying today.

[Tom Levesque]

Correct.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

And everybody wants to scoop up the low hanging fruit. But AP played the yellow young guys and girls, young people that will buy us 30 years from now. And because we're planting the seed, we're keeping our brand relevant. And they played the long game and it actually ended up winning the short game.

[Tom Levesque]

Just to butcher your point right now, the 54 year old guy had a good year, maybe an exit, has a few bucks, discretionary bucks, more than a few bucks. If they want a royal oak, they have the money. And this if anything, raises cachet short game. But then the young guy who's 27 years old, who can't nearly afford it but wants in on the game now, now has that purchase now or able to get maybe for 1200 bucks on StockX now, but now gets that affiliation with the brand. So when he's ready to buy when he's 54, not only does he have the money, but he now has the nostalgic connection. And the funny part is about is not only will he have the connection from a nostalgic perspective, he's going to be brand loyalist even before. And then one of the things that really made AP pop, believe it or not, similar to many French brands, etc. Is the rap community. Rap songs and the younger rap guys, although they flex just as much, they don't flex about watches anymore, they're smart, they don't have that Jay Z advocacy anymore. They don't have maybe an Eminem. Eminem is still kind of cool, more from a nostalgia, but in 20 years he's really not going to be. So they don't have that seating, maybe from rap that they used to the champagne kind of community, if you will. Ace of spades, crystal. They're in trouble nowadays because less guys drink but watches will not go to style. So again, makes it another great move.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Yeah, I love it. Tom, this has been fun, man. Talk to me about where people can learn more, more about everything you guys are doing at X Factor Media and to get any more of your insights.

[Tom Levesque]

Yeah, absolutely. If you want to check us out, X Factor Media Group.com is a website. I have a podcast, new theory podcast. Hopefully I can host you and give your insights to our audience. They're valuable. I think you got a great podcast, got a lot of great stuff going. Pretty much it. If anybody want to reach out, I love to chat. It was an honor, privilege to be here.

[Ryan Alford (Host)]

Really appreciate it, Tom. Hey guys, if you're listening, there's a lot of things to take away from some of the strategies Tom talked about what you see from ap, whether you're ap, a billion dollar, a thousand dollar brand or whatever, lean into ways that aren't always obvious. It's not always about the short term. You got to play the long term. And don't be scared to partner with people and brands and share in that borrowed interest. Even sometimes when you go left, it is right. We'll see you next time. Right about now, here's the truth.

[Ryan Alford (Host Intro/Outro)]

Information doesn't change your life. Execution does. So don't just listen to this episode and make move on. Take the idea, make the call, launch the thing, fix the problem, build what you keep talking about building. For more, follow Ryan Alford on Instagram Ryan Alford and watch or listen to every [e-mail] this is right about now. Now quit waiting. Go win.