A Diamond Engagement Ring Was a Marketing Ploy (And a Huge Success)
Many types of diamonds are becoming increasingly scarce in a world of enough. It's no surprise that engagement ring marketers are developing innovative ways to get couples to buy rings. Every day, we hear of another diamond engagement ring marketing ploy.
But one marketing effort, in particular, was a huge success.
The story of how a diamond engagement ring became a marketing ploy, and tremendous success has been told many times. But, this time, the tale is accurate. Management decided to revive its once-popular diamond engagement ring market. The company's marketing team came up with sending engagement rings to celebrities as part of their publicity campaigns.
What is Lab grown Diamond Engagement Rings?
Lab grown diamonds have recently captured the attention of couples looking to invest in something unique and special for their wedding day. These rings are made from a synthetic diamond material identical to natural diamonds. Still, they don't require any mining or environmental damage.
The diamond engagement rings are a lifetime investment that will always look beautiful and sparkle. No matter how big or small the diamonds get over time, they will always stay shiny and sparkling. Plus, diamonds are a precious commodity. People feel like they're getting something extraordinary when they buy one.
"A Diamond Is Forever" - The Revolutionary Marketing Ploy
Since 1948, these four recognizable phrases have been in every advertisement. In 1999, AdAge ranked them as the top tagline of the 20th century.
A new York Times article claims that Frances Gerety, the woman behind the signature. She thought of it just before going to sleep one night after neglecting to brainstorm it earlier for the meeting the following day.
When she went through her notes from the previous evening, she thought they were "just OK." When she presented them at the morning meeting, nobody seemed particularly excited about them.
The tagline effectively conveyed that a diamond, like your relationship, is forever. It was the primary marketing message. Mass reselling would upend the market and discourage consumers from ever reselling their diamonds. Also, it exposes the frighteningly low inherent value of the stones themselves.
"A Diamond is Forever" tagline improvised by people to buy diamond engagement rings. A diamond engagement ring is a sign of everlasting love.
How the Revolutionary Engagement Ring Market Ploy Started
Since diamond mines in South Africa were discovered around 1870, Diamonds are no longer considered uncommon. The British financiers supported the South African mining operations quickly. They realized that the diamond market would become saturated if they did nothing. They so established two bold objectives in 1888:
They first control the price of diamonds. They successfully acquired total ownership and management of the global diamond trade.
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer developed a worldwide network of wholesalers. They stockpile diamonds and sell them in a calculated manner. Their calculated approach was to control the price.
They then stabilize the market. The company would need to find a means to manage the global supply and demand for diamonds to succeed. They would need to locate an advertising firm for this.
The world economy was in trouble, and the war was a real possibility in Europe when they started looking for an advertising firm. Their issue was determining which country or countries had the tremendous potential to sustain a developing diamond market. They then hired an agency to conduct a marketing campaign in those nations.
It has been the case since the U.S. was picked when Europe was focused on the impending war. The quantity of diamonds in the United States has decreased by 50% since World War 1. Then, in 1938, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer employed Philadelphia advertising firm N.W. Ayer.
This is the most fantastic manipulation by Sir Ernest, who also influenced demand.
How N.W. Ayer Improvise The Market
N.W. Ayer was chosen because of his theories on performing in-depth studies on societal perceptions of diamonds and then carefully altering those perceptions to appeal to a broader audience.
N.W. Ayer conducted in-depth market research to learn Americans' perceptions of diamonds in the late 1930s. They discovered that Americans spent their money on other things like automobiles and appliances and that diamonds were considered a luxury only enjoyed by the extremely wealthy. Ayer would need to promote to customers with different income levels to sell more and larger diamonds.
So how do they increase demand for large diamond purchases in a lousy economy? They needed to develop a technique to relate diamonds to an emotional concept. Additionally, they had to prevent anyone from ever reselling diamonds because they weren't precious on their own. What was sentimental, worthwhile in society, and eternal? Romance and marriage. Bingo.
It was carefully and purposefully pounded into the minds of American men and women by Ayer. The diamond served as the purest and only symbol of adoration and devotion. The agency arranged for articles regarding celebrity diamond ring sizes to appear in newspapers and magazines.
Based on the New York Times report, N.W. Ayer's strategy was to set up an environment where nearly everyone committing to marriage feels pressured to buy a diamond engagement ring.
On talk shows, they invited fashion designers to discuss how diamonds were the newest and sexiest trend. Ayer even organized a lecture tour that visited high schools across the nation to quietly introduce the concept of diamond wedding rings to gullible auditorium daydreamers.
Was it a Genius Move or a Scam?
The company knew that their commodity lacked inherent value, gold and silver. As a result, they mastered the skill of selling to values, which in this case were the ethics and values associated with love, passion, and marriage. When they did their initial round of detailed market research, no one was interested in buying diamonds, so they had to induce that value themselves.
Regardless of your position, they have plenty to learn. It's incredible how N.W. Ayer invented demand by developing a narrative and value proposition for their product, which is still going strong today. It has effectively lost its stranglehold on the global diamond trade since the turn of the century.
They yet generate billions of dollars annually. But they created a solid foundation for the $72 billion a year diamond industry by marketing an idea rather than a product. It's interesting to discover more about how they controlled it for almost 80 years.
At the End
The diamond marketing ploy worked amazingly well. Between the sparkling diamond and luxurious setting, couples were more likely to spend extravagantly on what they perceived as an important symbol of their relationship. This trend will only continue as more couples compete for the best wedding gifts.