The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) launched its long-awaited campaign strategy and slogan at a special presentation at the JCK Show Las Vegas.
The DPA's target is so-called Millennials – aged between 18 and 35 – who they feel have not been targeted by diamond jewelry advertising and are not aware of the diamond industry's messages regarding precious gems.
The DPA began last year with a $6 million budget but that would be doubled, said DPA Chairman Stephen Lussier as it aimed to give generic marketing a boost.
The DPA presentation followed six months of work, including in-depth research into millennial buyers.
Lussier said the DPA wanted to bring "the diamond dream" to a new generation and get them to take on board and accept the symbolic and emotional role diamonds can play in their lives.
DPA CEO Jean-Marc Lieberherr spoke of three goals for the campaign: to create an ongoing emotional connection with current and future diamond consumers, to construct trust and confidence in diamonds and the gems trade, and to develop further the diamond trade's business practices from mine to market.
The presentation spoke about millennial consumers' "double-edged diamond perceptions", with an ambivalence about diamonds.
They have a reluctance to diamonds, seeing them as part of past generations' desires and did not want diamonds imposed on them.
On the other hand, diamonds could fit with millennials' desire for real connections and real experiences since their digital lives were missing real human connections.
Stephen Lussier also stressed the value of diamonds being inherently rare, precious and having enduring value, as opposed to lab-grown stones.
