RJ June 2016 One to One: A life in diamonds
16 May 2016 By Sarah Jordan
Forevermark chief executive Stephen Lussier talks to Sarah Jordan about
breaking into the branded world, telling stories and marketing diamonds with
a new campaign from the Diamond Producers Association
As executive vicepresident of marketing for De Beers, chief executive of
Forevermark and chairman of the Diamond Producers Association, it’s safe to say
that Stephen Lussier has a front row seat to the tumultuous global diamond
market.
While his 30 years’ experience at De Beers has certainly led to an impressive
knowledge of the global industry, it has also nurtured a protective and almost
romantic stance when it comes to diamonds in general – something that seeps out
when we discuss synthetic and labgrown diamonds.
If you’re buying an engagement ring and you’re spending significant
money on it, you are very interested in the diamond in the first
instance
Stephen Lussier, Forevermark
“I see some risk of creating consumer confusion if the industry mismarkets the
synthetic diamond,” he explains. “Maybe I’m biased, but when I think of what a
diamond is, I don’t think, ‘It’s crystallised carbon’. When people started desiring
diamonds 300 years ago, I’m not sure they even knew they were carbon; they just
knew that they were this extraordinary precious thing.”
He adds: “A diamond is something that is precious, rare and of enduring value. To
me, a synthetic doesn’t tick any of those boxes.”
In many ways, Lussier has made it his mission to protect the reputation and
credibility of diamonds, but, at the same time, shifts in global marketing, the rise of
social media, digital advertising and a consumerbranded focus have forced him to
balance sentiment with strategy.
This strategy plays out in Forevermark – De Beers’ diamond and finished jewellery
brand established a little over five years ago internationally, and 12 months ago in
the UK. Unlike other brands, Forevermark can be considered a diamond brand as
opposed to a jewellery brand that works with diamonds. It may seem like a subtle
distinction to a jeweller, but to the customer, it has the potential to be arresting in a
saturated market. If they have a choice between a diamond ring and a
Forevermark diamond ring with all the branded bells and whistles surrounding that,
which one are they likely to pick?
When asked if he thinks, realistically, that diamonds can become a brand in their
own right in the UK market, Lussier comments: “Yes, I think particularly with
diamonds of a certain size. If you’re buying an engagement ring and you’re
spending significant money on it, you are very interested in the diamond in the first
instance. And, if you look at the millennial consumer, they are very brand-
orientated compared with the generation before them. They’re used to brands
standing for a set of values and delivering consistent quality, but it is strange for
them to see that in a diamond.”
Here, Lussier highlights just how slow on the uptake the diamond industry has
been when it comes to branding. Speaking of how the UK trade can tackle this, he
adds: “I think what it requires is a different method of selling; you need to be able
to articulate the benefits of a diamond, which is the four Cs, but you also need to
articulate what it is about that diamond that makes it different, as a brand would
do. Once you do that, consumers understand very straightforwardly and respond
to it effectively, but it does require a change in the whole thought process for the
jeweller – and particularly the salesperson on the floor.”
To date, Forevermark is in 38 countries with around 1,800 points of sale. As well
as creating finished jewellery and red carpet pieces for special events, it is also
enjoying great success with its partnership model, supplying designers like Theo
Fennell with Forevermark diamonds.
Lussier notes: “The thing that makes the Forevermark brand unique is the
extraordinary level of flexibility that it offers people in the industry to work together
with us. We’re approaching a retail sales value just south of a billion dollars, so
inherently there’s something strong about the promise.”
Of course, consumer interest in diamonds rests on whether younger generations
will see diamonds as a covetable asset when they reach their peak spending
years. To do this, not only will diamond brands be required, but a global emphasis
on diamond marketing will be needed to spread the word.
To create that engagement and excitement, you need the stories,
because people share interesting stories; they don’t share your ad
Stephen Lussier, Forevermark
The Diamond Producers Association (DPA), made up of representatives from
ALROSA, De Beers, Dominion Diamond Corporation, Lucara Diamond
Corporation, Petra Diamonds and Gem Diamonds, has taken up this mantle, with
Lussier at the helm as chairman.
Lussier explains: “One of the Diamond Producers Association’s missions is to
make sure that we can build the foundation of the basic desire and value
proposition of diamonds for each generation of consumers. And it’s probably better
done in that collective way than by individual brands focusing on their own
particular niche.”
To do this, the Diamond Producers Association has worked with Mother New York
– a millennial consumer specialist and creative agency – to create a category-
driven advertising campaign, which will be unveiled at the forthcoming JCK trade
show in Las Vegas.
“We hope to start with our first marketing activity in Q4 of this year in the US. We
will start there and then seek to build the resources for the organisation as we go,”
Lussier notes.
However, topdown instruction can’t change the industry overnight, so Lussier
admits it is up to retailers to focus on storytelling and accept that the world of
marketing now requires a different way of thinking. “If I go back 10 years, I could
dream up some idea in my office here, I could put a television campaign behind it
and if I told people to do it and if I was persuasive enough, they’d go out and do it.
Those days are gone. Now, the single most persuasive marketing communication
is that which you’ve heard from one of your peers and not from a company. To
create that engagement and level of excitement and shareability, you need the
stories, because people share interesting stories; they don’t share your ad.”
Aside from marketing concerns, the DPA has broader aims in terms of industry
viability, sales margins and responsible sourcing – the latter of which ties in
significantly to shifting consumer attitudes to traceability and ethical awareness.
Lussier comments: “If I had to point out one big change in the past five years, it
would clearly be the combination of transparency around diamond pricing and the
internet – the impact that this has had on the ability of the average jeweller to
make a decent margin selling diamonds in the way that they have historically can’t
be underestimated. It’s driving a fundamental shift in the nature of the diamond
sector that I think the industry is still finding its way through.”
Moving on to responsible sourcing, it’s clear that the issue is key for Lussier and
the wider DPA. Despite this, there’s a wariness of stepping on the toes of the RJC,
which Lussier describes as “the mechanism by which collectively the industry can
cover all products that a jewellery sells”. He explains: “One of the things that we
[the DPA] want to be careful of is not to replicate what is already there. I find in this
industry that there’s often a confusion of organisations all doing similar things and
none of them with enough money. We’re quite careful about making sure that we
don’t make good organisations redundant, and instead we work and support them
to achieve the same goals.”
This ‘there’s more to be done’ spirit is admirable in an industry where so many
have stopped asking the difficult questions. With a diamond marketing scheme
under way and Forevermark proving globally that diamonds alone can be a brand,
the question of where those diamonds come from will crop up more on the
shopfloor. Whether you have the answer is, at the moment at least, entirely up to
you.
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