Since the launch in June 2016, the global diamond marketing platform of the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) – ‘Real is Rare. Real is a Diamond’ has never stopped growing, with the aim to strengthen diamond desire amongst millennial consumers. Claimed as the industry’s first category marketing initiative in a decade, the platform in the US market started in October 2016 and extended in September 2017. Following the encouraging results, it was brought to a broadening of millennials in India in November 2017.
Last year was DPA’s first real year of investment in generic marketing with US$57 million. In January 2018, the association announced that their annual budget will jump to US$70 million this year, which will enable them to grow its US marketing, support the first full year of investment in India, and expand campaigns around the world. Thereafter, the first new effort they are going to make is the kick-off of the campaign in China.
Hong Kong Jewellery talked to CEO Jean-Marc Lieberherr and Mabel Wong McCormick, managing director (China) of DPA on their marketing plan in China, research insights on Chinese millennials, and the influences of the ‘Real is Rare’ platform.
HKJM: Hong Kong Jewellery
JML: Jean-Marc Lieberherr ; MWM: Mabel Wong McCormick
HKJM: What is DPA’s plan to launch ‘Real is Rare’ in China?
JML: It is to find the right message, the right line and the right campaign. We have conducted a thorough research on Chinese millennials to make sure our campaign is based on strong consumer insights, and will build the platform in China based on those insights.
We will launch the campaign in China with commercials supported by an integrated media plan, focusing on online TV, cinemas, digital and social media platforms. There will also be an important aspect of education in our campaign to remind consumers what diamonds are and why diamonds are relevant to today’s consumer needs – authenticity and sincerity. When it comes to these needs, nothing is more authentic and natural than a billion year old diamond that was formed under a hundred of kilometers underneath the earth.
HKJM: What are the differences between marketing in China, the States and India?
JML: Our line is the same, but we express it differently in different market. The US market is very mature which is why we are focusing on the diamond as a symbol of the authenticity of love between two people. In India, it is very hard to talk about the authenticity when two people barely knew each other before they get married. That’s why we talk about diamond as a symbol of their journey from being a couple on paper to being a real couple in life. In China, the insight is around the point that diamond is the inspiration in a way to express your love through every day acts of care and tenderness.
As for marketing channels, each market has their specificity. In the United States, a multi-channel approach has been implemented across videos, radio, native and social platforms, cable television, national prints, out-of-home, etc. In India, it relies much on TV as the country is quite traditional in that respect. In China, we plan to rely more on social media and digital channels, alongside experimental online marketing.
MWM: Social media platforms in China are very unique and improving. They are effective and the mainstream medium especially targeting millennials there. Nowadays, there are much more tools of these platforms that we can use to track the effectiveness of our campaign compared to five to eight years ago. Our most important strategy is that it is not just about exposure, it is about engagement. As long as our approaches are correct, we can ensure what messages consumers get and how much engagement they would have with these messages.
HKJM: What did you find from DPA’s research on Chinese millennials regarding diamonds?
JML: One insight is that diamonds are aspirational and desirable for different reasons such as milestone celebration, symbol of romance, and necessity to weddings. However, diamonds do not play an active role in their lives. Most women would put diamond rings in the drawer rather than wearing them every day after they got married. We also found that young Chinese aspire to love that lasts but are anxious about how to get there. Moreover, they think that it is an everyday demonstration of love, care and tenderness that make love real, precious and last.
MWM: Through these insights, we feel that we need to inject more emotions into diamonds so that Chinese millennials would feel really proud to wear their diamond rings every day. If to do so, diamonds will inspire them, witness and celebrate their everyday journey towards the lasting love. These are probably the most interesting insights we found from the Chinese market versus other markets.
HKJM: How would you foresee the influences of the ‘Real is Rare’ platform on consumers and the trade?
JML: With a series of operations built on the platform in the next decade, DPA’s goal is to create a fertile emotional mind of diamonds amongst consumers. With that, they will understand the meanings of diamonds, and that diamonds are relevant to them socially, culturally and emotionally. We are going to be active the whole year, engaging and discussing with them. The key impact of the platform is to create consumers’ emotional connection with and desire for diamonds, and then to let retailers build their product concepts based on it. We will work closely with practitioners, and I am sure DPA will also involve in product concept development together with retailers in future.
← Back