Sekonda Bets on Gen Z With Its First Campaign via VCCP
Sekonda has launched 'any. second. now.', its first campaign with VCCP Blue and VCCP Media, a Gen Z-focused push that sells accessible everyday style over luxury status and introduces the brand's new smart ring.
Inside 'any. second. now.'
The campaign, which broke on 29 September and runs through January 2027, is built around six 10-second films directed by Jack Kenyon. Each captures a small moment of anticipation, a bubble-gum balloon swelling, a house of cards rising, and lands a product benefit in a snappy three-word rhythm that echoes the brand name.
It is Sekonda's first work since handing creative to VCCP Blue and media to VCCP Media, and the brief is unambiguously generational. Rather than borrowing the status cues of traditional watch advertising, Sekonda leans into affordability and everyday wearability, and uses the campaign to introduce a new smart ring with heart-rate and cycle tracking.
'They have got under the skin of the Sekonda brand and demonstrated incredible creative work,' said Janet Gough, marketing director at owner Time Products.
A Smart Read on the Watch Market
Sekonda is doing something quietly clever: refusing to compete on the luxury terms set by the category's biggest spenders. Where premium watchmakers sell heritage and status, Sekonda is selling accessibility to a cohort that treats a watch as an outfit choice, not an heirloom.
The media plan reinforces the strategy. The mix skews to where under-25s actually are, with digital out-of-home around student and retail zones, pre-roll on Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube, plus creator partnerships on TikTok and Instagram and first-view placements on Snapchat. This is a channel plan designed for attention, not prestige.
The Format Lesson: Built for the Scroll
The six-film, 10-second structure is the real story for marketers. Short, modular creative gives Sekonda a library it can sequence, test and refresh across formats without reshooting, the opposite of betting a whole budget on one hero film.
The three-word verbal device does double duty: it is memorable, and it fits the brand name into every execution so distinctiveness compounds with each view. For smaller brands, that is the affordable version of building mental availability: repeatable assets, one ownable structure, many placements.
What Growth Marketers Can Borrow
Pick a fight you can win. Sekonda cannot out-spend luxury, so it changed the category conversation from status to accessibility, a lesson for any challenger brand facing entrenched incumbents.
Then match the media to the audience, not to habit. A social-and-streaming-led plan with modular short-form assets is now the default playbook for reaching younger buyers, and it is well within reach of mid-market budgets. The discipline is in the consistency of the creative device, not the size of the media buy.
Quick FAQ
What is Sekonda's 'any. second. now.' campaign?
It is Sekonda's first campaign with VCCP Blue and VCCP Media: six 10-second films targeting Gen Z with affordable, everyday styling, launched on 29 September 2026 and running to January 2027.
Which channels is the campaign running on?
Digital out-of-home near student and retail areas, pre-roll on Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube, creator partnerships on TikTok and Instagram, and first-view placements on Snapchat.
Why is Sekonda targeting Gen Z with affordability?
Because it cannot win on luxury terms. Positioning watches and wearables as accessible fashion staples lets Sekonda own a space the premium market ignores and appeal to younger, price-conscious buyers.
Challenger brands win by changing the question, not out-shouting the answer. Sekonda cannot outspend luxury watchmakers, so it stopped competing on status and started competing on relevance to a younger buyer. Pick the battlefield where your budget is an advantage, and let consistency of idea beat size of spend. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
You don't beat a bigger rival by copying its playbook. You win by redrawing the category around a strength only you have.
Is your brand competing on someone else's terms, or on ground you actually own? Tell us how you'd reframe your category.
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Roastbrief, LBBOnline, Marketing Communication News and Creative Salon.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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