The Hindu Business Line : Leaving no stone unturned

AS the festive season gathers steam the world seems to be filled with gold, diamonds and jewellery. India has always been a country that placed a great premium on gold. As one of the largest consumers (and hoarders) of gold, we have seen it as much as an instrument of saving and investment as an object of desire. You never had to market gold to Indians. Since time immemorial, our temple deities and our women have been bedecked with the precious metal. Yes, what has changed are the sales and distribution channels.

With archaic restrictive laws in place, most of the gold was bought and sold by unconventional methods. Cash was the major instrument that underwent a quiet alchemy and transformed itself into gold coins, biscuits or chunky jewellery.

With a change in those laws and a refreshingly new breeze of "official" transactions coming into being, we see advertising for gold. Most banks have been advertising over-the-counter sale of gold, something very new in our country. Just imagine walking down to your local HDFC Bank branch (it has been aggressively advertising the sale of gold) and walking out with the precious metal. A far cry from the days when gold was sold only at gold jewellery shops, and that too predominantly in the form of jewels. The fact that banks are spending money advertising the sale of gold points to a couple of things. One, people are buying raw gold now. Two, they are comfortable with this all-new point of sale. I guess a bank has an image that in itself lends a great comfort value to the quality of the gold sold. A factor that could have caused a feeling of unease in the past while buying from a goldsmith.

Having established this new standard for gold, there have been consistent efforts over the last several years to promote the sale of diamond jewellery. Keep in mind the fact that most of our jewellery shops across the country mainly sold gold jewellery. De Beers, the company that `controls' most of the world's supplies of diamonds, has partnered with JWT (then HTA) to do some pioneering work in popularising diamond jewellery. And the efforts have not been restricted to advertising.

Countries in the West have always had a history of mail-order purchase of jewellery. This was completely alien to the culture of the Indian buyer. The very concept of going through a catalogue, looking at a gold chain that had a ruby and diamond pendant and ticking off a couple of appropriate boxes or clicking in a credit card number and then looking forward to your purchase arriving in the mail would be quite abhorrent to an Indian. Firstly, it would presuppose an abundant supply of high-quality catalogues mailed to the right target segment — in this case young people with disposable incomes. The database itself would also have to be just right. Then it would presume the safe delivery of the merchandise to your doorstep and the availability of someone responsible to accept it when it arrives.

We are at present more comfortable stepping into a shop, touching and feeling the baubles, maybe preening before a mirror, paying for them and then tucking them under our arms and walking out feeling satisfied with a one-off purchase well-executed.

This meant that shops that traditionally stocked only gold jewellery had to be convinced that they should stock diamond jewellery as well. And the only way that this would work was if they felt there would be a demand and they would not be stuck with expensive inventory. What was required was the classic push-and-pull effort. Put diamond jewellery into stores and then push footfalls into those stores as well. Well, this effort seems to have translated into results in a fairly satisfactory way.

Good segmentation and positioning of diamond jewellery has ensured that different names signify different sizes and cost parameters. Good advertising has ensured that while people are definitely more aware of the five `Cs' that every diamond should be evaluated for and about gradation and certification, none of the mystique and mystery has been shorn off the glittering stones. Just imagine if, in the process of increasing awareness, people saw it as a piece of compressed coal that could be precisely classified into well-defined grades! It would result in the complete commoditisation of something that has been carefully built up carat by precious carat purely on sentiment. The fantastic imagery of a diamond is so complete that you would marvel at the cut and clarity of the `diamonds' adorning an Aishwarya Rai when they could very well be zircon stones. On the other hand, you could cock a condescending snook at the real diamonds on someone who does not quite fit the image of a well-heeled owner of diamonds.

That, I believe, is the ultimate triumph of brand-building. And a diamond is one of the ultimate standalone brands the world has seen. Sure, now Gili or Orra or Tanishq could justifiably boast of marketing their brands of diamonds but the fact of the matter is they all owe a debt of gratitude to De Beers primarily, and Argyle, to a lesser extent, which have invested huge sums of money over long periods in time to make you believe that the cold uncompromising stone you hold in your hand is actually an undying symbol of love. Sure, they have reaped the benefits of this well orchestrated campaign but then, that is what you gain by really building a fantastic brand.

With diamonds themselves being branded and sold at department stores and chain stores, what is the future of the little jewellery stores that dot the landscape? Will they end up being just distribution points on the massive supply chain-and-logistics maps of the giant sellers of branded diamonds? Will the local craftsmanship that has endeared itself to generations die a silent death?

Well, the answer is that many stores are aggressively positioning themselves as brands. TBZ with an estimated advertising spend of Rs 4 crore is one example. On the other end of the spectrum, you could have Diljeet Shah's jewellery store in Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu which provides personalised advice and designs and has built up a formidable reputation for integrity.

The large players will grow and the niche playes will prosper as well. May the glitter spread!

(The author heads Canco Advertising.)

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