Educating your consumers can go a long way in building a credible brand. Consumer Education Initiatives or CEIs help in building a brand. So what are CEIs, why does diamond trade need it, this and much more in this special feature by Kavita Parab.

“The way ahead for adding value by Indian diamond manufacturers is through sharper branding and marketing,” Union Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher told delegates of the first World Diamond Conference in New Delhi last year.And one of the ways to achieve sharper branding and marketing is through implementing consumer education initiatives (CEIs).

All the industries are waking up to the importance of CEIs. Be it companies/brands from Pharmaceutical, Banking, Education or Diamond industry all are constantly educating its consumers in order to evolve as a trustworthy brand. Though the diamond industry is an unorganised sector, it is gradually giving in to importance of branding and being organised. There are lot of diamond companies/brands like Kiran Gems, Divine Solitaires, D’Damas, Asmi who have been consistently educating their consumers about four C’s, authenticity of their company/ brand and the various categories.

The CEI Campaigns
GIA
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) had launched a national public awareness campaign to help people make more informed buying decisions regarding diamonds, GIA-created Four Cs and GIA Diamond Grading Reports.The campaign - The Difference Between Wondering and Knowing - explains the Four Cs of diamond elements (Colour, Clarity, Carat Weight and Cut), and the importance of having a diamond grading report, which will define for the consumer the exact gemological qualities of the stone he or she is planning to purchase.The campaign had three parts: firstly, a national print and online advertising campaign aimed at audiences with an immediate need to know more about diamonds such as affluent jewellery buyers and men looking for wedding rings; secondly, the advertisements were designed to direct consumers to new GIA website - www.gia4cs.gia.edu.; thirdly, a kit for retailers to use to help them educate customers with confidence and accuracy about diamonds, the Four Cs and the International Diamond Grading System(TM).

World Diamond Mark Foundation
In December 2014, during the World Diamond Conference in New Delhi, the World Diamond Mark Foundation (WDMF) announced the first Authorised Diamond Dealer® (ADD).

ADD is an accreditation programme with the objective of sustaining and improving consumer confidence for diamonds and diamond jewellery worldwide. It is based on a fundamental retail diamond industry Code of Practices and a set of obligations to ensure high level of consumer service. The accreditation programme gives access to educational and degree programmes, trade benefits, specific marketing programmes and tools.

Tanishq
Tanishq’s CEI campaign featured Bollywood’s leading couple Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. This unique campaign by Tanishq aimed at making consumers aware of the various aspects of diamond quality. The company had even launched an online campaign – The Curious Case of the Missing Diamonds. The online campaign aimed at taking diamond education to the next level at the same time making the process more engaging. The microsite enabled users to help Amitabh find the missing diamond through an online game. This online game has a series of clues in the form of captivating videos of suspects who would have stolen the diamond.

DCLA
DCLA Diamond Exchange is the e-commerce arm of DCLA, the Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia. In order to restore their online brand positioning and make it more consumer friendly, the company planned an online email campaign for certifying diamonds. The company roped in Flotsam & Jetsam to make the technical side of diamond certification easily understandable to everyday consumers. Flotsam & Jetsam’s email campaign aimed at consumer education around diamond certification with a special focus on driving sales of loose diamonds. Through the email campaign, the company tried coordinating with social media strategy and evergreen site content to drive traffic back to DCLA Diamond Exchange.

Divine Solitaires
Divine Solitaires organised the consumer education program with a Jain social group, which was attended by 300 ladies. The programmes involve a 360 degree approach - infomercials in print andsocial media, special customer brochures aimed at simplifying the technical data of a premium quality diamond. The campaign aims to create a sense of trust and empowerment for the consumer while offering them the best of international quality at a transparent standard and fair price.

What They Said…
Alex Popov, Chairman, WDMF on ADD programme:
“For the consumer this (retail) is the only segment,” he explains. “People go to a retailer for his reputation, his values, for his product. We want the retailers to represent the highest values so that consumer confidence in our product remains high. With our programme, consumers can be assured on every front when they deal with an Authorised Diamond Dealer.”

Sachin Jain, President, Forevermark India on CEIs:
“We at Forevermark ensure a constant and sustained effort through mass media outreach and engagement with our retail partners to make them most aware of the current trends with the clear objective to build in more confidence on our industry and diamonds. Our PR and Marketing activities ensure the element of consumer awareness embodies our communication that goes out to our audience.”

Jignesh Mehta, Founder & MD, Divine Solitaires on cost and resources used for CEIs:
Our company bears all the additional costs for periodic infomercials, social media updates, ground activations like: consumer awareness programmes at individual partner jeweller showrooms and very importantly educating the staff and management of these showrooms as they will pass on this info to the consumer first hand at their counters. For a recent initiative, we incurred massive costs as a team of our experts travel to each and every partner jewellers showroom across India to educate staff.