Generic (or industry-wide) advertising is one of the effective ways to increase the demand for and consumption of certain goods. The role of chief promoter in the diamond industry was played by De Beers Group whose slogan “A diamond is forever” can be called one of the most successful in history. Does the industry need generic advertising today?
Subsequently, De Beers re-aligned its marketing strategies to supporting the promotion of own brands, in particular Forevermark. Forevermark diamonds are different from all others in that they are produced under strict standards of social responsibility and meet the highest quality requirements. This is checked by the Forevermark Diamond Institute, which inspects every diamond before it is granted Forevermark status. Forevermark’s advertising message is based on a promise of certain quality standard and non-involvement in conflict diamonds - a sign of quality, in short.
According to experts, the Forevermark brand strategy will bring favorable fruits to this single company. However, there is no one currently involved in promoting diamonds in general as a product category. Still, there are signs that this situation will soon change.
In his August interview with Rough&Polished Charles Stanley, President of Forevermark US, stressed that only Forevermark partners involved in the program will be able to use its slogan, symbols and to gain benefits from it. Who will support the diamond dream in society then?
Also in August, Stephen Lussier, Forevermark CEO and De Beers Group Executive Director, while speaking to Martin Rapaport, the head of Rapaport Group, said the industry can survive without generic advertising, but in order to achieve the desired growth it needs an effective marketing.
"First, the challenge for the industry, is to make sure that we maintain the diamond dream — those broad emotional concepts and the symbols that apply to diamonds. We must make sure that each generation comes on board and buys into the diamond dream. That can’t just be taken for granted. As an industry we must find ways to develop marketing programs that communicate emotional platforms and that don’t just focus on “here’s my design and here’s the price.” We need to work to keep the diamond dream alive," this was the point of view expressed by Lussier.
This view is shared by India. According to various media reports, India's Gems and Jewelry Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) plans to spend $8 to $10 million for advertising diamond jewelry among consumers in India over the next three years.
According to official sources, cited by the Times of India, major diamond companies related to GJEPC decided to start their own advertising campaign not only in India but also in China. The advertising budget for each of these countries will reach $4 million.
"We are looking at generic marketing for diamond jewellery in India and China. An effective ad campaign, like that of the De Beers is set to drive the sales of diamond jewellery. We are in the process of hiring a leading advertising company to run the campaign," said Vice Chairman, GJEPC, Sanjay Kothari.
Kothari also appealed to the leaders in Israel, Belgium and Dubai to join forces and raise money to make the campaign spread to other countries. He also noted the need to establish an international coordination committee, as Michelle Graff wrote in her blog.
Let us recall that such a body was once created in the past - in 2008, there was an attempt to establish the International Diamond Board (IDB), which was to be engaged in diamond marketing around the world, but it failed to start its work. One of the reasons of such a misfire could be the primordial problem of generic advertising with one or several companies paying and others enjoining its benefits. In Russian they call it "hanging on one’s tail" and in English such companies are called "free riders."
Managing Director Varda Shine at the Antwerp Diamond Conference in May 2011 said that De Beers would be interested in joining a renewed effort to push category marketing and to provide finance as long as other industry organisations and bodies were also involved.
Mr. Vasant Mehta, the former head of GJEPC and Vice President of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) in a chat with JewelleryNetAsia said, “Promotional activities of diamonds should to be taken on global basis to revive demand.” He stressed that he would appreciate if the International Diamond Board (IDB) would be revived and the promotional activities are taken up by that board.
Mumbai will host the 35th World Diamond Congress on 14 to 17 October, where the main theme will be the promotion of diamonds and diamond jewelry among consumers. If the IDB is destined to come alive and get busy with industry-wide advertising, then an appropriate decision can be taken by industry participants in Mumbai already this fall.
Olga Patseva, Editor in Chief of the American Bureau, Rough&Polished
