Perhaps it is the Italian blood of his great-grandfather, who arrived in the United States in 1918, that makes Teddy Baldassarre such a baby-faced assassin, because he is certainly killing it in the hugely competitive world of YouTube.
Teddy has posted more than 700 videos since starting to make films about his love of watches in 2017 and now consistently reaches more than 4 million monthly views.
Monetizing that reach is tough, with Alphabet-owned YouTube raking it in on the back of Teddy’s creativity, so he started his own eCommerce store TeddyBaldassarre.com that is an authorized dealer for more than 30 watch brands.
He was given a leg up in the development of that online store by Fred Levin (another member of this year’s WatchPro Hot 100), who created Troverie.com as a platform drawing together brands, authorized dealers and customers.
Brands are missing a huge opportunity and sowing the seeds of their own demise
When Fred pulled the plug on that business, Teddy took it on.
The combination of a sophisticated e-commerce offer and Teddy’s YouTube audience is a recipe for success for both businesses.
In 2021, sales at TeddyBaldassarre.com rose 1,000% and views for his content totaled 45 million in 12 months, mainly made up of Gen-Z and young millennial viewers.
That young audience should be catnip to watch brands, but few want to risk association with an untamed upstart like Teddy.
“The biggest challenge has to be the general resistance from certain brands in the industry to accepting our more digital approach to content and retail,” he says.
“There have been challenges demonstrating the value of digital reach in a world of watches that is very focused on traditional media and retail models.”
Brands are missing a huge opportunity and sowing the seeds of their own demise, Teddy suggests. “I ask the question, what is the industry doing today to successfully position itself to the 15-year-old that is potentially five to 10 years away from buying their first proper watch?
“The unfortunate, yet truthful, answer is probably nothing, since they are not a buyer that is going to make any significant difference to their quarterly earnings report.”
There is a pressing need for these brands to tell a compelling story for a new generation of buyers or they will spend their future wealth elsewhere. Teddy is on a mission to prevent that, but he can’t do it on his own.
