Brief
Following the success of the
‘Past, Present and Future’ three-stone jewellery, launched in 2000, in 2003
there became a renewed need to generate momentum for the entire diamond
jewellery category industry.
A problem was developing in
the diamond jewellery market, and by 2002 matters had come to a head. Rings are
the mainstay of the category – they are the number one selling type of diamond
jewellery and they command the highest average price. Yet the 5 year period of
1997 – 2002 showed a steady decline in rings as a proportion of the total
market, both in terms of pieces (45% to 38%) and retail value (59% to 52%). Furthermore,
while the total diamond jewellery market had seen a compound annual growth rate
of 6% over that period, rings were lagging behind with only 2% growth.
Solution
“Women of the World: Raise Your Right Hand”
We identified a specific source of weakness – and opportunity – within the “fashion ring” sub-segment. Unlike traditional, symbolic pieces such as eternity bands, “fashion ring” designs were uninspired and lacking in significant diamond content- a wasted opportunity for a consumer whose desire is driven by innovation.
We also detected a second, synergistic opportunity - single women. Comprising a quarter of women’s diamond jewellery value, they are a prime target for non-symbolic fashion rings, and furthermore had never been specifically targeted in DTC’s previous diamond communications. We had to broaden diamond ring associations with romance so that it could also become an item a woman could buy for herself.
A daring new positioning of self-expression and self-affirmation was chosen, which effectively married a woman’s love of diamonds with her natural inclination to treat herself well. It was highly appealing to single women, but did not alienate those who were married. If left hand rings are a celebration of her relationship, her Right Hand Ring is “a celebration of her”.
The campaign took on a multi-faceted approach, ranging from PR (all four women from Sex in the City posed for US Weekly with Right Hand Rings at the show’s premiere), to an interactive program called “The True Ring Test” launched on adiamondisforever.com. A print launch followed in August 2003.
Following the launch of the campaign in May 2003, awareness of the Right Hand Ring had already reached 20% by October that year. By April 2004 it had soared to 39% among a representative sample of women, and by September 2005, awareness of the Right hand Ring, had steadily increased to 42%.
Total rings grew by 6% in 2003, matching total market growth for the first time in 5 years and generating an additional $1.7 billion in retail sales. Total ring sales continued to grow in 2004 by 8%, again matching total market growth.
Fashion rings grew by 23% among single women in 2003, and 22% in 2004. And in advertising tracking, 55% of consumers reported that the ads “make me look at diamonds in a different way” (compared with a DTC norm of 34%).