The much-awaited Generic Diamond Promotion Campaign by GJEPC and De Beers is expected to commence on 10th October 2016. During a press-briefing held here at BDB in Mumbai, Praveen Shankar Pandya, Chairman, GJEPC along-with Sabyasachi Ray, executive director, GJEPC and Shailesh Sangani, Convenor, PMBD (Promotion, Marketing & Business Development Division) GJEPC, shared details of the campaign with the media.

The GJEPC in partnering with DE Beers for the Campaign and for the phase I of the Campaign, the budget would be around of Rs. 50 crore for India while for the American market, the budget is around of Rs. 350 crore. The Campaign aims to reach out to all the diamond jewellery manufacturers and retailers across the country and help boost diamond jewellery sales in the upcoming festive season of Navratri, Dussera, Diwali, etc.

The Campaign is expected to kickstart on 10th October 2016 and will continue for the next three months. Tagline for the campaign is “Ek Heera Tumhare Heere Ke Liye” and is targeted toward married couples between the age group of 25-35 years. The Campaign, which is being developed by De Beers, shall mainly comprise of ATL activities such as TV & print advertising and BTL activities like POS material for the retail outlets with a dedicated call centre to guide consumers for more details on products and its availability in the listed stores/retailers.

Talking about the need for the Campaign, Praveenshankar Pandya said “After lapse of 12 years the promotion is happening for the industry. The Council has been deliberating with the diamond producers to begin the generic diamond promotion campaign. We claim to be the leaders in diamond manufacturing in the world and it is our duty to promote this Campaign worldwide. With the launch of this campaign, we hope to help in enhancing the demand for diamond jewellery and help retailers clearing the existing stock pile.”

As per the comprehensive research undertaken by De Beers, there is significant amount of Diamond Jewellery in ‘Cluster Settings’ available with retailers. Hence, the current Campaign will push diamond jewellery of this particular setting.

GJEPC Chairman Praveenshankar Pandya said, “Looking at the slow demand for diamond jewellery, the deliberation among the industry stakeholders for such a campaign has been going on since some time now. I am glad that along with De Beers we have been able to take the first step in reviving the demand for diamond and diamond jewellery. Through this campaign, we expect to bring back the excitement back to the category and increase the consumers’ awareness about the diamonds and its prices.”

Stephen Lussier, Executive Vice President, Marketing, De Beers Group; Chief Executive Officer, Forevermark, said “De Beers is working closely with the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council to develop a category-based marketing campaign over the key selling season in India. India continues to be one of the top performing markets where diamond consumption is concerned. It is thus imperative to protect and grow diamond equity and this will require a sharp focus on consumer confidence and consumer demand. With this campaign we aim to retain and mature the preference and purchase of diamonds in this market.”

The Council is urging the diamond jewellery retailers to register for the program so that maximum number of retailers can avail the benefits of the campaign. Under the program, the retailers can register for fee of Rs. 5000/-, per store. As informed, a number of leading diamond jewellery retailers have already registered for the program.

Starting 30th September in Mumbai, the Council will begin its road shows across India. After conducting three consecutive road shows in Mumbai on 30th September, 1st and 4th October, the next road show will be conducted in Chennai (3rd October), Delhi (6th October), Lucknow and Chandigarh (7th October) and Ahmadabad (8th October). The Council is planning to conduct these road shows at least in 30 cities across India.