Can De Beers Diamonds Deliver Dramatic Dent in Gold Demand?

Most of my students read the ad and became sentimental. They went gaga over the father—how he was treating his daughter like a princess, how he was trying to break a stereotype, how he considered her a princess, and how he wanted to gift her a diamond on her 16th birthday.  Satiated, they fell back into their seats.  Their faces had the expression of a cat that had a bowl full of cream and was supremely happy.

I said, “Yes, very good. All that you said was seeing the trees and missing the forests. Do you really think that De Beers is the Government of India to fight for girl and women empowerment? Did any of you see the business angle? Every company is looking to make money. It is all about money. How does this ad make sense considering that DeBeers would have spent 40 Lakh rupees in putting out this advertisement?”

A whopping Rs 1,65,000 crores worth, or 802.8 tonnes of gold was consumed by India in 2024. Industry estimates say that diamond sales in India are only 20% of the gold sales. Just like Thums Up dominating Coke in India, in all other markets Coke is an undisputed king. Similarly, only in India do diamonds play second fiddle to gold in a country that worships the yellow metal.

DeBeers is the market leader in the diamond business and would like to have a bigger share in the very lucrative Rs 1,65,000 crore worth of sales that gold generates in India. India has always been a gold country, and the attraction is that gold is seen as a hedge against inflation and as Stree Dhan (a lady’s wealth), wealth that belongs to the lady (mother, wife, daughter). Gold is also seen as an excellent investment that offers a great return on investment.

Diamonds don’t have the above attractions for Indian women. It is only seen as an ornament that is used as part of gold jewelry. That is the perception that De Beers wants to change. Think of diamonds when you earlier thought about gold. A girl's birth, first birthday, first day at school, a girl attaining puberty, engagement, marriage, etc. Thus, this ad campaign of DeBeers is to change perceptions about diamonds. It is positioning itself straight against gold.

Similarly, in the 70s and 80s, motorcycle riders  in the USA had a macho image and an image of negativity because of movies and popular culture. The riders were huge, had tattoos, wore leather clothes, and were shown as tough people. Movies like Mad Max heightened and reinforced the image of this ultra-tough, macho bad man. Regular customers were shying away from motorcycles.

Honda wanted to change this perception and came out with a path-breaking campaign. "You meet the nicest people on a Honda." This campaign, where Honda showed people from different walks of life, aka respectable people, riding a Honda motorcycle, went a long way in changing the perception of a motorcycle being a  mode of transport of tough, bad people. De Beers is trying to do the same with its campaign: change perceptions. In a way, it is a generic campaign that will benefit all diamond sellers, and as a market leader, De Beers would profit the most.

De Beers, too has tried the perception change campaigns in the past. One of its iconic campaigns was the “A diamond is forever” campaign, but that focuses mostly on the engagement and the marriage segment. But in India, it is trying to trigger the heartstrings of the breadwinner, the father, assuming that he will do anything for the apple of his eyes - his daughter!

Key words: Jewelry Marketing, Luxury Goods Advertising, Consumer Perception, Market Trends, Advertising Campaigns, Brand Positioning, Product Promotion, Target Audience, Market Research, Sales Strategy, Gold Marketing Strategies, Gold Investment Promotion, Precious Metals Marketing, Gold Jewelry Branding, Digital Gold Marketing, Gold Sales Campaigns, Luxury Gold Products, Gold Market Trends, Gold Advertising Agency

20th article published in HANS INDIA today (25th October 2014) It is titled "World's best Promotions - The Power of the Punch".

20th article published in HANS INDIA today (25th October 2014) It is  titled "World's best Promotions - The Power of the Punch". 

World's best Promotions – The Power of Punch

It is said that only three things are definite in this world. Two of them are death and taxes. And the third one is advertising. Advertisements are meant to inform, influence and inspire people to buy and experience products and services. They can aid marketing in many ways including acting as remainder, shocking people, and to dissuade some customers from buying (de-marketing) and also in making people avoid or not to buy some products (negative marketing).

But there are some advertisement campaigns that make people change their perceptions, their ideas, feelings and make them look at products more favorably than what they were before.

1. Volkswagen Beetle - Think Small (1959): was created by Helmut Krone with the copy written by Julian Koenig at DDB agency. It was ranked as the best advertising campaign of the twentieth century by Ad age in a survey of North American advertisements. The campaign has been considered so successful that it did more than boost sales, it built a lifetime of brand loyalty for Volkswagen.  

 

The message "less is more" is geared towards car buyers. Like the VW Beetle the advertisements were simple and uncluttered, featuring photos of the car against a plain background. Can one sell a car with a headline that reads "Lemon”?  In one of the advertisement, Volkswagen was pointing out that the car in the photo didn't make it off the assembly line because one of the many inspectors found a blemish. "We pluck the lemons; you get the plums," was the slogan.

2. Coca-Cola - The pause that refreshes (1929):  was designed and executed by D'Arcy Advertising Co. With the advent of the great depression of the thirties corporate America was worried that sales would suffer. Not so with Coca-Cola whose advertisements depicted carefree people and an idealized view of American life when real life was rather dull. During the first year of the campaign, sales actually doubled. The economy may have been depressed, but "the pause that refreshes" appeared to have been just what Americans needed to lift their spirits.

3. Nike - Just do it (1988):   The founder of Wieden Kennedy agency, Dan Wieden met a group of Nike employees to talk about a new advertising campaign. He told them, "You Nike guys . . . you just do it." The result was one of the most effective taglines in advertising history. During the first ten years of this award-winning campaign, Nike's market share went up from 18 to 43 percent. Today, the Nike name is so recognizable that it doesn't even need to appear in the advertising. The iconic "swoosh" is enough. 

4. MacDonald - You deserve a break today (1971):  Needham, Harper & Steers advertising agency successfully pitched an upbeat, catchy slogan to McDonald but they struggled with the lyrics. Noticing that the word "break" continuously surfaced in focus groups, copywriter Keith Reinhard finally wrote the perfect lyrics for the jingle “You deserve a break today”.  Within the next few years, global sales jumped from $587 million to $1.9 billion. The song was named the top jingle of the 20th century by Advertising age. 

5. Debeers - A diamond is forever (1948): De Beers pioneered the iconic positioning of diamonds in the contemporary culture, as a symbol of everlasting love because just like true love, a diamond is forever.

Frances Gerety, working for N.W.Ayer & Sons coined the famous line "A Diamond is Forever".  Frances Gerety, was given a brief to compose a line that encompassed and expressed the physical attributes and legends surrounding the diamond. She came out with a sentence which would later be voted as the most iconic advertising slogan of the 20^th century.  From then onwards the diamond became an integral part of the modern-day ceremony of love, engagement and the celebration of enduring relationships. Through De Beers the diamond has come to speak a universal language, conveying its messages of love, rarity and desire.

6. Avis - we try harder (1963):  DDB the advertising agency came up with one of the most controversial and revolutionary campaigns for Avis. The first print advertisement, designed by DDB art director Helmut Krone with copy by Paula Green, appeared in March 1963. It was headlined, "Avis is only No. 2 in rent a cars. So why go with us?" The body copy began, "We try harder. (When you're not the biggest, you have to.)"

A series of "We're No. 2" advertisements were made by DDB. Avis' share of the market increased by as much as 28%, and Avis came to be considered a co-leader with Hertz in the field. "We try harder" became a cult advertising mantra.

7. Honda – You meet the nicest people on a Honda (1963):  Motorcycles had got a very unsavory reputation in the USA during the 50s and the 6os. People riding motorcycles were seen as tough and mean guys. In short motorcycles were seen as vehicles for the tough and the anti-social elements. The tough image of the Harley Davidson riders and the looks of the Harley riders did nothing to bolster confidence that motorcycles were for the entire family.

Honda did an entire campaign that said ‘you meet the nicest people on a Honda’. This campaign was done by Grey advertising, USA.  The advertisement depicted housewives, a parent and child, young couples and other respectable members of society-referred to as "the nicest people" riding Honda motorcycle for a variety of purposes.

Honda succeeded in its appeal to the American public. It was seen as a casual vehicle for daily activities, and as such was an entirely new consumer value as a vehicle for the entire family. It erased the motorcycle's deeply rooted image of evil and discontent.  This iconic campaign legitimized the motorcycles and made motor cycles and motorcycling reputable again in the USA.

8. Liril - Come alive with freshness (1975): The "Liril" bath soap advertisement campaign was created by Alyque Padamsee for HLL. Padamsee explains that the five minutes that a Lady of the house gets when she is bathing is the only private time she gets in the entire day. The Liril advertisement shows the enjoyment of a lady taking her bath. The locale, the exhilarating music and the sheer exuberance of the model (Karen Lunel) defined what the best Indian advertising was all about.

9. Hamara Bajaj (1989): made for "Bajaj Scooters". Hamara Bajaj stood the test of time and regularly tops the list of the best advertisement campaigns that was made in India. The most impressive thing about Hamara Bajaj was the not so subtle message that Bajaj is totally Indian and having a Bajaj scooter is most patriotic. And Bajaj was the most secular of the products that were available.

10. Fevicol – Dam Laga Ke Haisha (1989). Fevicol a product of Pidilite is a low involvement category product.  It is not a product category that people get excited about. After all, it is a product that one never sees once the furniture is made.  It took a creative genius Piyush Pandey to turn a boring product intro a talk of the town.

The body of work that Piyush and O & M have done over the years is a stellar example of India’s creative brilliance and execution.  The Fevicol advertisements became a hit because they are "son of the soil" kind of campaigns. They are rooted in India but with ideas that touched Indians.  There are hardly any words but people find it funny and yet meaningful. Today Fevicol is one of the top most trusted brands.  Fevicol (dam Laga ke Haisha), Fevicol (egg) and Fevikwick (fish) are among the most loved Indian advertising campaigns.

15th Article published in HANS INDIA today (22nd September 2014).

15th Article published in HANS INDIA today (22nd September 2014). It is an article for all marketing buffs "Great Marketing concepts'.

Examples of Positioning and Repositioning - Johnson and Johnson, Vespa Scooter, Marlboro and Debeers (Part 1)

The last post we had discussed Positioning. Let us see some examples: 

1) Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo (Differential Positioning):  Johnson and Johnson is the company that is famed for child care products. It is the mother of all baby category products (pun intended). Thus it is not surprising that mummy care and mummy love is equated with J & J products. Parents willingly spend a bomb as long as they get the best baby care products for their children. J & J’s baby shampoo has that soft, mild smell and texture that gives the baby the soft creamy hair. Mothers used the same mild baby shampoo on themselves. Seeing the marketing opportunity,  J & J launched a “Baby Shampoo” series targeted at adults -  Adult mothers who want the same soft baby hair just like their children hair.

2) Marlboro (Classical Repositioning):  Marlboro is the ultimate male cigarette and the advertising reinforces the same. The famed cowboy, his Stetson hat and the rugged looks have gone a long way in reinforcing that image of rugged manhood. Marlboro had started out as a ladies cigarette. Check out the very red filter. The very red filter was used so that the lady‘s lipstick is not spoiled. Over a century’s what started out as a lady’s cigarette has been repositioned as the ultimate manly cigarette. Talk about persuasive advertising!

3) Scooter: (Classical Repositioning):   Scooter is a product that was invented in Italy. It was a product that was made with the women in mind. The male two wheeler vehicle of choice is the motorcycle. It is heavy manly and sure is rued like the Bullet. Scooter was designed by Vespa keeping women in mind. The lady can get on to it like a ladies bicycle. They need not straddle like a motorcycle (a lady wearing a skirt could drive a Vespa). It was lighter and had a easier kick start. The early Italian Advertising campaigns for Vespa and Lambretta, mainly targeted at women, the advertisement seem to be saying, "I may want to be with you, but I am a busy girl, I have options, I am independent I can do what I want and choose who I want"!

The Vespa called Chetak in its Indian Avatar got positioned as a man’s bike of choice. It was heavy, rugged and had a kick start. The positioning of the lady’s bike of choice had later first occupied by the Kinetic Honda and later by Honda Activa.

Debeers: (Repositioning the customer mindset):  Debeers is the king of diamonds. It had a easy time in the western world where the traditional symbol of love has always been a diamond. A diamond is forever. Diamonds are extensively used in engagements and there was no dearth of customers queuing up to buy its diamonds. In India Debeers faced a problem. In India the metal of choice is gold. So much so that the majority of gold mined and sold in the world finds its way to India (either legally or illegally). Debeers is still working out its positioning strategy in India. It is trying to persuade Indians to buy diamonds along with Gold. It is trying to change the Indian perception that stones are not that glamorous. It is pitching hard to drive home the fact that diamond are forever and so is the bond that is about to be sealed (the engagement ring being the symbol of everlasting love).