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Diamond Congress Raises Marketing Expectations
May 18, 2016 3:44 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... The diamond industry stressed an urgent need for boosting consumer demand through effective marketing during the opening day of the World Diamond Congress (WDC) in Dubai on Tuesday.
Even as industry profitability, bank financing and the threat of synthetic diamonds dominated discussions, participants found themselves returning to their concern weaker demand is exacerbating other challenges.
“We must all contribute, cooperate and do all we can to maintain and strengthen consumer confidence in natural diamonds, for the benefit of the entire diamond supply pipeline,” said Ronnie Vanderlinden, secretary-general of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA).
The secretary-general called for greater support for the World Diamond Mark Foundation, a diamond promotion initiative of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), and for closer cooperation between the Mark and the Diamond Producers Association (DPA).
Jean-Marc Lieberherr, chief executive officer of the DPA, assured cooperation with the industry as the association prepared its debut campaign for the JCK Las Vegas show on June 3.
“The key role of the DPA is to help make the entire industry more sustainable and that won’t happen without working with everyone,” Lieberherr said. However, he fell shy of committing to a joint campaign between the DPA and the World Diamond Mark, while representatives of the Mark were endorsing the idea at the congress.
Alex Popov, chairman of the foundation, outlined the success of the World Diamond Mark’s recent campaign on social media. It is also preparing to roll out a website that will be a resource for consumers and a virtual ‘world diamond museum’ for the industry, Popov explained.
The DPA, meanwhile, will focus its campaign on promoting the concept of diamonds to millennials whose tastes and needs are different to that of previous generations, Lieberherr said. “They love the idea of diamonds but they feel emotionally disconnected to the product,” he told the congress.
On synthetic diamonds, delegates acknowledged their appeal for millennials and considered what their appropriate response should be to the setting up of the Lab-Grown Diamond Association earlier this year.
Ernie Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), advocated a move to more orderly and cordial relations with the synthetics trade. He added that as production of synthetic diamonds rises, prices will fall, which will further differentiate the relative rarity and emotional appeal of natural diamonds.
The opening day concluded with a banking seminar hosted by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC). Further discussions on bank financing and transparency were on the agenda for day two of the congress.
The World Diamond Congress occurs every two years and is a joint session of the WFDB and IDMA’s annual meetings.
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Tags:
Diamond Producers Association, diamonds, IDMA, Rapaport News, WFDB, world diamond mark
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THANK you......and Frances Gerety thanks you!
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May 19, 2016 11:15AM
By Juanita Addeo
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Ah - so a Diamond IS Forever! The ghost of Frances Gerety's coinage of "A Diamond is Forever" should be just that.
Building a product up to a $300 promotional budget and pulling the plug has almost annihilated the industry.
Lets get some sizzle into the steak again!!!
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