De Beers plans to adopt digital marketing

PTI Updated - August 03, 2012 at 08:15 PM.

Stephen Lussier, CEO of Forevermark, the diamond brand from De Beers group.

Encashing the growing opportunity in mobile and computing space, diamond major De Beers plans to adopt digital marketing as part of its plans to reach the target audience, a top official has said.

“Globally, the marketing strategy we adopt is different.

Two years ago, digital marketing may not be important for India, but today digital mode of communication is a fantastic marketing vehicle for diamonds,” Fairevermark CEO and Executive Director of De Beers Stephen Lussier told PTI.

“If I think about television, I may get your focus for 30 seconds or 20 seconds. Within that I may probably deliver one idea. But in digital, I can engage you for an average of three minutes and I can tell a lot more ideas within that three minutes,” he said.

“The idea of digital is a fantastic tool. The challenge is we have to create enough interest, so that you can come. You need to be extraordinarily creative (in digital mode).”

He said De Beers was looking at developing phone applications.

“Already we have an application for i-pads. The challenge in mobile phone space is that you have to make the content work in a smaller space, than what you can do in PCs or even in tablets.”

“But it looks like smartphone is the ticket in the market”, he said.

Currently they were piloting in Hong Kong through smartphones, where if an individual downloads the mobile application and if one crosses the Forevermark Club or a store, “it will tell you that shop has got new Forevermark stones’’.

“You can use just less text and more visuals in a mobile phone. We try to produce basic content globally and the key is you have to adopt it in different market,” he said.

Published on August 3, 2012 04:44