The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) is planning to launch a $5 million Indian generic promotion campaign for diamonds in October, DPA Chief Executive Jean-Marc Lieberherr said at a prelude event for the Indian International Jewellery Show (IIJS) in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The campaign, which is centred on the Real is Rare. Real is a Diamond tagline, is nevertheless, specifically tailored for the Indian market. This approach will also be taken for a China-specific campaign that is slated for launch in April 2018.
Lieberherr explained that the DPA’s global campaign would be centred on building a strong emotional bond between consumers and diamonds. “We are looking at going beyond the social drivers of status, indulging in luxury and milestone celebrations,” he said, adding, “with today’s audience, particularly the millennials, there is a strong aspiration for authenticity and sincerity in their lives and relationships. Nothing could say this better than a billions-of-years-old diamond.”
However, Lieberherr noted, while researching the Indian market, with its overwhelming proportion of arranged marriages, the many couples who were asked what the term ‘real’ meant to them, also overwhelmingly put luxury, status and milestone celebration at the top of the list, while emotions came a poor fourth.
More detailed probing revealed that over the years, after having undergone an arranged marriage and “being a couple only on paper” and having traversed the road through developing intimacy and becoming an actual couple, these same people realised how well they had actually done and that this was worth celebrating. “The Indian campaign will be focussed on conveying an acknowledgement of that achievement,” Lieberherr said.
According to him, the Indian campaign will feature two films for television and digital media as well as a strong social media campaign. The October launch is targeted at catching the all-important Diwali sales season and the end-of-year wedding season (a period considered auspicious for weddings).
With a $57 million budget for the 2017 calendar year, that came in rather late and will, therefore, be overwhelmingly spent in the latter half of the year, the DPA is looking at ramping up promotions worldwide, giving that the budget allocation has come with a multi-year commitment from donors.
At the inauguration for the (newly rebranded) IIJS Premiere 2017 trade show on Thursday, Praveenshankar Pandya, Chairman of India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) announced a contribution of $2 million towards the DPA’s global promotion efforts.
While being enthusiastic about the start in India, Pandya is, nevertheless, already chafing at the small budget and calling for a $100 million global financial war chest for 2018. “We have to make up for the ten years we wasted not advertising all,” he said.
https://www.gemkonnect.com/news/dpa-indian-campaign-focus-emotional-journey-arranged-marriage