Can Marketing save a failing Market?

Emotional purchase is a term that is the core aim of many marketing efforts worldwide - ATL, BTL, or Digital. Almost every marketing reach-out you see about a purchase tries to attract customers with emotional relevance or emotional influence.?

Marketing professionals and geeks may already know this story, but today we will revisit how N.W. Ayer & Son's Gerold M. Lauck and his team convinced the U.S. population of that time and the generations to come that "A Diamond is Forever."

Diamond Facts?

1. Diamonds are not unbreakable; it just takes much effort to break one.?
2. Diamonds aren't rare, at least not until 1888 when De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd was formed.
3. Diamonds are overpriced. The moment you exit the store with a diamond, it loses approx. 20% to 50% of its value.

The beginning

After discovering massive diamond mines, the British, in charge of the South African mining efforts, panicked that the diamond market would be saturated and devised the idea of monopoly establishment and creating supply and demand through marketing.?

Creating the Monopoly Establishment?

De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. was formed for the sole purpose of monopoly to apprehend full ownership and control of the world diamond trade.?

The Plan

Figuring out what works in the market

First and foremost, diamonds weren't a popular choice. It was considered a luxury item and only affordable by the wealthiest, though, at that time, the diamonds' prices were hitting the low curves.?

To save the diamonds from falling price and to market the demand and supply. Gerold came up with an idea to attach emotional relevance to diamonds. But what would be something that people want and wish to last forever? Boom - Marriage!?

The concept of an engagement ring has existed since medieval times, but it was never widely adopted.?

A campaign outline with historical and emotional relevance for the sparkly stones and their falling market is now ready. But where to market it? Europe was under the threat of war, so it would be unwise to sell the ideology there; where else??

The U.S. population expressed a comparative interest in diamonds, and Oppenheimer decided to promote the idea in America. After extensive research of people's attitudes towards diamonds, the N.W. Ayer & Son team came on with a detailed campaign story ready for De Beers.

It was agreed that if Ayer's plan were successful, De Beers would have Ayer become the exclusive agency for its American demography.

The execution

Influencing the emotion.

N.W. Ayer's publicists wrote newspaper content and magazine stories about celebrity proposals with diamond rings and their type, size, and worth.?

Fashion designers talked about the new diamond trend on radio shows and other forms of media.?

The complete focus was on the story of the emotional bond. Not De Beers. Not Diamonds. Along with educational tips on diamonds and how to buy good ones regardless of size - spreading the ideology that one need not be wealthy to buy a diamond and that it's for everyone.?

It worked! In just four years between 1938 and 1941, a massive increase in diamond sales of about 55% was reported.?

Power of Storytelling?

Emotional purchase that stood the test of time.?

This emotional purchase is now a custom and default culture in the U.S. Engagement rings are vital to couples, mainly in the U.S., when they move on from dating and are ready to enter marriage.?

Couples from other parts of the world also contribute to this dynamic behavior. However, almost all of them do not associate it as a mandatory proof of relationship quality or status.

It is still going strong.

"The global jewelry market was valued at USD 249.02 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% from 2022 to 2030.

Ring captured the largest revenue share of over 25.0% in 2021. The rising sales of rings worldwide are principally driven by the increasing demand for wedding rings..." - GrandViewResearch.com

(Jewelry Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product)

The Lesson

The concept of emotional purchase is used to date, even and especially in this digital era. Many say it was because De Beers wielded monopoly. If the marketing didn't succeed or wasn't executed to begin with, there is no use in being a monopoly without a demanding market to supply or potential customers to sell to.?

Marketing works on the existing attitude and interest of its target audience but also is capable of changing the same to adapt to its product market ideology. That is how powerful marketing can be; this historical happening is a prime example.?

Many companies consider marketing an optional extension, even in 2022. This story shall be repeated for decades to try and make companies and decision-makers understand that marketing can make or break a company, and a marketing team should be considered a vital part of a company's foundation team.

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