Jewellery brands pin hopes on Diwali; marketing ad spends increase

Festive season is a period when the jewellery brands marketing spends increase almost by 2-3 times, compared to yearly average. This is also the start of the wedding season; therefore, the jewellery brands are optimistic about big ticket purchases picking up from here. All efforts are directed to create maximum impact – be it rolling out new designs or adding muscle to the marketing spends.

Speaking about the marketing budgets for the festive season, Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers, said, “At Kalyan Jewellers, the marketing and advertising budgets are allocated on a quarterly basis wherein we have all the major events and festivals covered during that particular quarter. Usually, our marketing and advertising spends are 2 percent of the total annual revenues. This year, we have decided to go big with brand promotions across leading digital and social media platforms by allotting 15 per cent  of our advertising and marketing spends to digital mediums.”

According  to Ahammed MP, Chairman, Malabar Gold & Diamonds,“The jewellery brands usually increase their marketing spend by 10-12% in the festive season. However, the decision to enhance marketing spend depends on the prevailing market scenario. If market sentiment is positive and retail prospect looks optimistic, the jewellery brands come out with all guns blazing.”

The brands are also hopeful of a surge in demand for jewellery ahead of Diwali and in the ongoing festive season. “Dhanteras and Diwali is an auspicious time to buy jewellery. We are expecting a sequential growth of 30 to 40 percent from the previous months,” remarks Suvankar Sen, Executive Director, Senco Gold & Diamonds.

Change in purchasing trends

Speaking on the gold purchasing trends, Ramesh said, “Gold prices saw a rise in the months of July-August, which did have an impact on the buying sentiments. However, the trend has steadied now, and we are hopeful that Dhanteras and Diwali will be favourable. With customers looking at buying jewellery not just as an investment, but also because it is a custom or a tradition that is followed during these auspicious occasions. However, as compared to the previous year we are witnessing a dip in the demand for gold jewellery.”

Commenting on the gold purchasing trends Ramesh said, “A trend that we noticed is, we are seeing men also show interest in jewellery and looking at buying platinum products like chains, bracelets and rings. Wedding brand purchases are also gravitating towards solitaire studded platinum pieces.”

“Ad spend is a strategic decision which depends on the phase the brand is, in its journey, in terms of brand-recall value, vision on retail expansion, product differentiation,” observes Ahammed. “Depending on our brand-promotional objectives, we usually fine-tune the budget. Having embarked upon a journey to open 750 outlets in the next five years with an annual turnover exceeding US$6.16 billion (Rs.45,000 crore) and the Group turnover to US$6.85 billion (Rs.50,000 crore) by 2023, our ad-spend is in line with such a massive vision.”

“Without putting a number, we can say that we are expecting a healthy growth in terms of sales and revenue during Diwali,” Ahammed added.

Marketing and ad strategies followed

Consumers nowadays are exposed to a gamut of communication media and each medium has a power to influence the consumer decision-making process. The brands have launched campaigns across media and are offering huge discounts and offers to customers.

“Our marketing strategy ticks all the boxes such as print, television, radio, outdoor as well as social media. All help us in developing stronger consumer traction. Our marketing heads decide the runtime of the campaigns and promotion to create maximum impact in a cost-efficient way,” said Ahammed.

“We have taken several initiatives starting from new product launches, offering best-in-class jewellery enriched with innovative designing work paired with festive offer to promote the brand this festive season,” Sen added.

Senco has launched special products this festive season. They have launched men’s jewellery collection-AHAM and new lightweight jewellery designs for women under Everlite collections. They have also introduced specially designed Pride collection for the LGBTQ community. The brand also has launched uniquely designed Bridal Collection for the upcoming marriage season. Several brand campaigns are presently active for Senco Gold & Diamonds and its sub-brands – AHAM, Everlite & Bridal Collections.

Campaign named “ Shine On” featuring Sourav Ganguly is promoting men’s jewellery collection – AHAM. With “Don’t Take Me Lightly” tagline, the brand campaign featuring Swapna Barman is alive to promote the Everlite jewellery collections.

Kalyan Jewellers opted for a multi-channel marketing approach wherein from traditional print to television, radio and digital are explored. “We have consistently followed an aggressive and integrated approach, when it comes to marketing and advertising during this auspicious season,” said Ramesh.

“This Diwali, we have planned some exciting offers – the highlight of which is the ‘Giving away of 3 lakh gold coins’ offer via a weekly draw. We also have instant discounts – Rs.1250/- off on every 10 gram gold purchase and reduced making charges or VA, starting as low as Rs.199/- per gram. In the case of diamond jewellery, we are offering a flat 20% discount to customers. We have also partnered with banks and banking network aggregators to provide additional offers and discounts,” added Ramesh.

On the marketing campaign front, Kalyan Jewellers  kicked off the festive season campaign with their 4-Level Assurance Campaign TVCs featuring their global brand ambassador, Amitabh Bachchan with daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda. This campaign was amplified across states in South India featuring their brand ambassadors – Prabhu Ganesan (Tamil Nadu), Shivraj Kumar (Karnataka), Akkineni Nagarjuna (Andhra Pradesh & Telangana) and Manju Warrier (Kerala).

“Keeping in mind the millennial audience and various factors they consider when it comes to making the purchase decision, we launched a fully-fledged digital and social media campaign #DilRoshanTohDiwaliRoshan. As a part of this Diwali campaign, we have launched short videos that showcase our jewellery designs and effectively portray the essence of Diwali capturing the sentiments behind the celebrations. The campaign features our global brand ambassador Katrina Kaif sharing screen space with our regional brand ambassadors – Wamiqa Gabbi, Kinjal Rajpriya, Pooja Sawant and Ritabhari Chakraborty,” added Ramesh.

Counting on the Diwali season

“Diwali hopes are always bright. However, we feel that growth will be muted. We don’t expect a big jump. But better than yearly average this year,” remarked Sen.

For Ramesh, Diwali looks very positive.“With gold prices inching down, the market response this Diwali looks very positive. Even though big ticket wedding purchases had continued through the last couple of months, the present dip in gold prices will further propel small ticket and token buying trends,” said Ramesh.

According to Ahammed, consumers are gradually accepting the higher gold price, which is a great sign for jewellery retail. The consumer choice spectrum is also expanding with the inclusion of other categories like diamonds, colour gemstones, and platinum jewellery. “We are looking at a broader jewellery retail spectrum in the upcoming festive season,” Ahammed concludes.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News Service