The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) has tapped millennials’ desire for authenticity in its campaign slogan unveiled at the JCK Las Vegas show on Friday.
The slogan “Real is Rare, Real is a Diamond” urges millennials to stop thinking of diamonds as a superfluous luxury product or rite of passage, explained David Lamb, marketing consultant to the DPA. “We want them to start thinking about diamonds as the perfect symbol of a real connection,” he said.
The DPA’s research revealed millennials are both skeptical and have a strong identity with the diamond story. Lamb noted millennials are also searching for real moments in a world where they’re overstimulated with too much communication. The campaign will therefore encompass their desire for individuality, flexibility and personalization, he explained.
Jean-Marc Lieberherr, the DPA’s chief executive officer, added the DPA was tasked to develop a new truth about diamonds. Whereas the organization couldn’t use the iconic “A Diamond is Forever” slogan, which belongs to De Beers, Lieberherr said this created an opportunity to assess what millennials can add to the diamond story and collectively make it more powerful.
While audience members reacted favorably to the new campaign, some expressed concern it was too focused on millennials, ignoring women self-purchasers in particular. “As a non-millennial, what are you doing to seduce me to diamonds?” asked one audience member.
Lamb noted that 92 percent of respondents to its campaign testing said it was a unique concept, while 67 percent said it was relevant to them. Some 44 percent said it changes the way they think about diamonds.
