De Beers is changing its messaging this holiday season by concentrating on women’s empowerment in its upcoming advertising campaign. “Historically, De Beers ads focused on a man gifting a diamond to a woman to express his appreciation for her as a mother or wife or girlfriend,” said Stephen Lussier, head of De Beers marketing and CEO of its Forevermark brand, in an interview with Rapaport News. “Today, we need to understand the changing world in which we operate: It’s a world of economic empowerment of women in which there is a greater degree of equality in the relationship.”
Lussier said the upcoming Forevermark holiday campaign would celebrate women for all that they are, with less of a focus on gifting — despite it airing around the holidays.
The campaign is expected to launch in late September, showcasing Forevermark’s Tribute Collection, which will be more design-oriented than previous holiday collections were, Lussier noted. It will feature more multi-stone pieces, since female purchasers are more attentive to design than men are, he explained.
Demand from women represents more than 90% of all diamond-jewelry sales globally, De Beers noted in its 2017 Diamond Insight Report, which it unveiled at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair on Thursday. Bridal jewelry accounted for 27% of women’s diamond jewelry, while self-purchases of non-bridal jewelry accounted for 23% of the market and gifting 50%.
