Diamond Promotion A Way Ahead

The luxury market is infested with so many products and a consumer is spoilt for choices. It is becoming increasingly difficult for diamond to hold its priority in the minds of consumers, especially millenials. Only a well-researched, effective campaign will be able to retain the significance of a diamond as a product. By Kavita Parab

In a time where Instagram and Snapchat are influencing the buying decisions of the consumers and consumers have an array of luxury products to choose from, the diamond industry has an existential battle to fight. Though lately, the industry has woken up to the importance of diamond promotions and has already started working towards aggressively promoting them, it still has a long way to go. Before we get to know what is being done to promote diamonds, let us quickly peep into the earlier days of diamond marketing and promotions.

How it all started?
In 1938, amidst the devastation of the Great Depression and the aftermaths of the war, Harry Oppenheimer, the son of the founder of De Beers recruited the New York–based ad agency N.W. Ayer to enhance the image of diamonds in the United States; the practice of giving diamond engagement rings had been unevenly gaining traction for years, but the diamonds sold were increasingly small and were of low-quality.

Ayer’s team did an exhaustive market research to find out exactly what Americans thought about diamonds in the late 1930s. They found out that the diamonds were a luxury and were meant for the super rich. Other than this, Americans were spending money on cars and other luxury goods. Ayer had to market diamonds to consumers belonging to varied income groups. They wanted to create situations wherein every person planning to marry should be compelled to buy a diamond engagement ring.

In those times, traditional marketing tools like radio and newspapers were used extensively to talk about diamond trends, engagements, celebrity proposals through columns and magazine stories. However, entire narrative was presented in such a manner that consumers would simply get an idea of emotional value that the diamond resonates. The plan was to leave an idea behind – emotional value that surrounds diamonds – without hard-selling the product.

According to a New York Times article, the woman behind the signature line ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ (Frances Gerety, who wrote all of De Beers’ ads from 1943 to 1968) came up with it right before bed at night after forgetting to come up with it for the meeting next morning. When she reviewed what she’d scribbled down the night before, she thought it was “just OK” -- and, after presenting it at the morning meeting, no one was particularly enthusiastic. However, these four words were finally chosen and went on to become De Beers’ anthem.

According to TheAtlantic.com article, between 1939 and 1979, De Beers’ wholesale diamond sales in the United States increased from $23 million to $2.1 billion. Over those four decades, the company’s ad budget soared from $200,000 to $10 million a year.

Till the 80’s, De Beers accounted for almost 90 per cent of global rough diamond sales. It is known to have controlled an empire that extended from the mines of South Africa, Australia, Canada and Siberia to the sorting rooms of London, Antwerp and Tel Aviv. However, by 2012, this share had trickled down to 35 per cent owing to various changes that occurred in the world of mining and luxury in the last two decades since 1980.

According to a Berkeley study, by 1990s, De Beers was losing its grip on the market due to several events that happened: – Soviet Union collapsed, weakening partnership; Huge Argyle mine in Australia broke off from cartel; New mines in Canada discovered; Increasing popularity of synthetic diamonds.

The Last Few Years
Over the years, diamond marketing became a core responsibility of companies to midstream diamond manufacturers as well as retailers. With each passing year, these individual firms too were involved in pushing their brand ahead rather than the product.

The value of diamonds as a physical asset has grown steadily. However, amongst a bevy of other luxury attractions, diamonds are losing their sheen. The industry was busy telling the consumers about the characteristics of a diamonds rather than trying to find the connect between diamonds and consumers.

New Initiatives
Gradually, the industry is waking up to the importance of diamond marketing and promotions. The formation of the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) was one such step. The DPA is an alliance of seven of the largest diamond mining companies in the world, which together represent over 75 per cent of the world’s diamond production. Its members– ALROSA, De Beers, Dominion Diamond, Gem Diamonds, Lucara Diamond, Petra Diamonds and Rio Tinto, are the leading miners globally.

Even in 2012, WFDB formed World Diamond Mark (WDM) with an objective to promote consumer desirability and confidence in diamonds. The WDM’s global objective is to ensure the health and the future growth of the diamond and diamond jewellery industry in the luxury market sector through the creation of consumer demand. It is based on four core activities: 1) Generic Marketing Programmes to increase sales of diamonds and diamond jewellery, 2) Consumer Information to increase consumer desirability and trust in natural diamonds, 3) Retailer Education and Training to increase knowledge and retailer performance, and 4) Authorised Diamond Dealer® (ADD) accreditation programme to increase the reputation, brand value and revenue of jewellery retailers.

Recent Campaigns
During JCK Las Vegas, DPA debuted a print, out-of-home, and digital display campaign extension, complementing the successful “Real Is Rare” TV and digital videos that were released in October 2016.

Developed by Mother New York, and shot in New York City in March 2017, the five singlepage ads are primarily focused on engagement and wedding diamond jewellery. “DPA thanks our many partners for providing beautiful jewelry for our campaigns, including Gillian Conroy, Danhov, Greenwich Street Jewelers, Beverly K., Leo Schachter, and Pluczenik featuring Forevermark diamonds,” said Deborah Marquardt, DPA’s Chief Marketing Officer.

The DPA recently launched its India operations as India is one of the important potential markets to grow diamonds as a brand. India, which accounts for 7 per cent of the global diamond consumption, provides a huge growth opportunity in the global consumer matrix. Talking about India’s association with diamonds, Jean- Marc Lieberherr, CEO, Diamond Producers Association, said, “India is the natural home of diamonds. It is where they were first found and where they are being cut and polished. It is only natural that the DPA should focus its efforts on working with the local trade to realise the potential of India as a diamond market”.

“Real is Rare, Real is a Diamond” is promoting a new message about diamonds. As billion-year old natural and precious stones, diamonds are the ideal way to celebrate the uniqueness and authenticity of the love which unites a modern couple. The Indian campaign is directly inspired from in-depth research about modern Indian relationships and multiple interviews with young couples from all over the country. It is based on the key finding that every couple has a unique story, a journey made of rare moments that are worth celebrating for themselves. These unrecognised moments of bonding and intimacy are often the defining moments in journey of a couple in creating something unique and real between them.

The DPA will soon be launching two TVC advertisements, each of 45 seconds durations. Both the advertisements subtly try to send across a message to married couples that ‘a diamond is rare and real as your relationship’. The DPA is targeting married couples who have been married for 5 to 10 years. They are investing US$7 million for media promotions during 2018, which would be spread across social media, digital, cinema halls and PR. The TVC would be in five Indian regional languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, etc.

Commenting on the importance of developing diamond as a brand, Jean Marc Lieberherr said, “We are here to develop a powerful, emotionally and culturally resonant promise for diamonds in the Indian market. Our idea is to build the future of diamond in India by linking diamonds to personal emotions. The advertisements are about promoting diamonds as a mark of couple’s achievements in a relationship.”

In November 2017, the DPA launched the new “Real is Rare” advertising on the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards airing on Univision. “The Reveal” is one of two new videos presenting a modern take on love and diamonds. “The Other Party” debuted on ABC’s broadcast of the 2017 American Music Awards on 19th November.

Developed in collaboration with creative agency, Mother New York, the campaign launches with two videos entitled, “The Reveal” and “The Other Party,” as well as several images for print, digital, and in-store use.

Lessons from the Past

Initially, when diamond promotions began, the idea was not to sell more products but to help consumers find their emotional connect with diamonds. With the latest DPA campaign for India, one factor is evident and that is promoting diamond is important for the future growth of the industry.