Jewellery brands to tap into digital to reach new-age audiences this festive season

With the festive season influencing the larger part of the consumer shopping trends, a report by UBS shows that 70% of consumers expect their festive spending to rise while another 18% expect stable spending compared to last year. According to the report, 50% of the consumers have bought gold and jewellery as planned or more than planned in the last three months. This is also linked with the wedding season falling in line with festivals. With this, jewellery brands' festive marketing plans are set to see an uptick.

Sharing his observations, Vipin Nair, Chief Marketing Officer, Malabar Gold & Diamonds notes, "The consumer spending trend in the pre-Navratri phase indicates that consumers are ready to spend more during the peak of the festive season. A positive consumer sentiment sets things up for a busy and productive festive season for the jewellery industry. The festive season is incomplete without the glitter of gold, the sparkle of diamonds, and the vividness of precious stones. We expect an increased offtake of gold, diamond, platinum, and precious stone jewellery."

The season, which started with Ganesh Chaturthi, will soon be onboarding Navratri and Diwali and tying it all up with the wedding season and the cricketing season through ICC Men's World Cup, a festival in its own right. This year, jewellery brands are expected to tap into digital marketing, considering the shifting consumer trends.

Speaking to the younger generation

Amit Pratihari, Vice President, De Beers Forevermark, highlights that there has been a positive shift in consumer buying patterns as they are now more inclined to purchase items that are meaningful and play a prominent role in their everyday life. 

"We are also seeing a huge demand, particularly from the younger generation, to buy classic pieces from our Icon and Avaanti Collections which are lightweight and can be worn daily. The younger generation is liberal in spending on jewellery and diamonds in particular. We are also witnessing a rising trend of self-purchase among modern women, as jewellery, particularly diamonds, has become a visible symbol of their self-expression and independence," Pratihari divulges the consumer trends that are shaping up to be the spending force for the year.

This festive season, we are expecting a substantial growth of around 25-30%, with South India being a significant driver. - Amit Pratihari

For brands like Mia by Tanishq that largely appeal to Gen Z, the plan is to go digital across all the online channels during the festive period along with print in some select places, says Shyamala Ramanan, Business Head, Mia by Tanishq.

The digital-first brand has roped in Bollywood actor Rakul Preet Singh for its latest campaign, 'For The Star in you' which aims to encourage women to be their confident self, keeping in line with the self-love message jewellery brands have been dwelling into through their marketing efforts.

Ramanan continues, "This campaign will go off on digital, offline channels and we are also planning to use a lot more influencers. So we will have quite a few influencers who will be styling our jewellery and putting together looks that can be worn by consumers."

A recent study shared by Meta and YouGov reveals that influencer and creator content influences purchases, as 66 % of Diwali shoppers agree that creators influence their purchase decisions.

It is to be noted that personalized content through ads on social channels is increasingly becoming more important for Diwali shoppers, with 69% agreeing that it was easier to complete their Diwali shopping with personalized products and gift suggestions on Facebook and Instagram.

Apart from this, Mia has invested in promoting its products through ICC Men's World Cup with two sports presenters, Sanjana Ganesan and Mayanti Langer as the styling partners.

"Men make up about 40% of our base so ICC is a perfect medium to speak to that segment," Ramanan shares.

The key components of marketing 

Shivani Harshad, Deputy Marketing and Branding Head, Harit Zaveri Jewellers comments that the late millennial generation, along with the nascent GenZ, are increasingly leaning towards gold as an investment. 

"Their choices in jewellery vividly echo their perceptions of the world around them. They're in search of pieces that not only appeal aesthetically but also offer versatility—jewellery that embodies the fluidity of their thoughts and can be shared with friends or family on a whim."

She considers these emotions and psychology to become the overarching trend for all designs in the upcoming season.

Interestingly, however, the brand's marketing relies on in-store experiences.

"While our varied campaigns have their merits, it's the genuine conversations and warmth at our store that leave a lasting impression. Our emphasis has always been on organic word-of-mouth marketing, as we believe there's no better advocate for our brand than a contented customer," says Shivani Harshad as she outlines the brand's upcoming plans.

On the other hand, placing a significant emphasis on online channels this festive season is BlueStone since its target audience consists of inherent digital natives, gravitating toward online platforms, as per Harshna Pasari, Marketing Head at BlueStone.

"Video content will play a pivotal role in conveying our message and showcasing our products effectively. Additionally, social media platforms will remain essential in connecting with our audience on a personal level," Pasari asserts. 

The brand aims to tap into a data-backed approach to its marketing, ensuring it resonates with the evolving customer base during the festive season. 

With its omni-channel presence, the brand provides a variety of designs that consumers can browse through, walk into one of its stores to get a feel of the jewellery firsthand or book a Try At Home appointment.

Pasari expects the sales of contemporary wardrobe jewellery to soar during the festive season, owing to their comfort and versatility. 

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Joita Sen, Director & Head of Design and Marketing Senco Gold & Diamonds, comments that an increasing footprint has resulted in the brand's advertising budgets to expand, with digital being a prominent medium to focus on. 

"Moreover, for our retail presence of Senco Gold and Diamonds in cities apart from metropolitan ones, we keep traditional mediums like TV, print and radio with a significant allocation. Our integrated strategy covers all the channels, and for the upcoming festive season, we plan to make a region-wise strategy and work with channels that do best in the regions, giving us better leverage and optimised results."

From a marketing point-of-view, the brand believes different occasions need different collections and its marketing campaigns are geared towards showcasing the same, with a focus on everyday lightweight jewellery.

For Navratri, Sen says, Senco is launching a new collection named 'Shakti' that is about the power of the Devi, which is reflected in the woman as she empowers and relies on herself through self-confidence.

The brand has kept its focus on designs for its marketing and has the 'Shagun' collection planned for Dhanteras, which is about everything that's auspicious with lightweight gold and diamond jewellery.

As of now, Senco has launched its festive campaign for Durga Pujo, which shows a woman visiting her home for the festivities and the gifts she brings along for her family that showcase the bond between them.

For Malabar Gold & Diamonds, launching special Diwali collections across all its showrooms in India will be the way to go during the festive season. 

Along with this, the brand has introduced its ad campaign Kareena Kapoor and Alia Bhatt namely 'Speak Your Heart With Mine Diamonds' which has been generating encouraging responses and has managed to connect with people, according to CMO, Vipin Nair. 

“TV will be the lead medium supported by print, outdoor and theatre branding. Having said that, we have also amped up digital and social media spends to build stronger consumer engagement, as design or product discovery majorly happens on smartphones nowadays," says Nair.

In addition, the brand will unveil special promotions and festive cashback benefits in partnership with banks.

Malabar aims to boost regionalization in its promotion plans to connect deeper with our customer segments that are culturally and linguistically diversified. 

"We are taking the hyperlocal route to ensure our digital marketing campaigns and our pan-India advertising campaigns have stronger appeal and create the desired impact. The festive season marketing playbook this year will choose a more personalized and localized route to influence the purchase decisions of the consumers," Nair signs off.

With changing consumer preferences, the jewellery industry is decking up its product portfolio in tandem with what millennials and Gen Z expect. With this, the media mix is seeing a shift in the industry, too. 

At Social Samosa, we are running a parallel Festival of our own. To discuss the possible ways for maximizing your festive marketing efforts, join us for Social Samosa's Festive Marketing Camp on October 11 at Taj Santacruz starting 10:30 A.M. It will feature Keynote Sessions, Panel Discussions, Fireside Chats & Workshops that offer actionable insights into Shopping Behavior, Consumption Patterns, Content that enables Commerce, Media Avenues which drive performance, emerging Trends & Technology, and more.