marketing Archives - Data in the Rough

Why doesn’t the Jewelry Industry put out a Superbowl Ad?

March 5, 2020March 5, 2020Michelle

Last month roughly 102 million people watched the Super Bowl and 23.6 million tuned in to see the glamour, gowns and winners of the Oscars. Town and Country put out it’s February 2020 edition with the 3^rd Annual Jewelry Awards and after the first two events I thought, who is this really reaching, and should the Jewelry Industry think about a different strategy to reach consumers?

I’ve done a more detailed analysis on the last two awards issues here and here last year. This time I’m going to ask some bigger questions that might get you thinking about how you want to market your company. Let’s first look at how Town and Country presented the awards this year.

Town and Country Jewelry Awards

The small mention of the Jewelry Awards on the cover (it gets smaller every year), had the statement: The right way to spend your money. The first thought I had was investment pieces, but the pages showed off jewels that lacked a proper description of why you should spend for these jewels. I was also hoping for more on future designers but only about a quarter of a page with 4 designers sharing the small spotlight making it feel more like a passing thought.

The Editor’s Letter talked about the Dresden Green diamond that was not part of the crown jewels of Saxony that were stolen on November 25. The diamond was loaned to The Metropolitan Museum for the current exhibit, Making Marvels. The editor talked about how the exhibit embodies the, ‘link between technological innovation and social prestige.’ The hope was that the awards would also show some innovative designs. The pieces were nice but if no one really knows what goes into it or how valuable the materials are then there is not much prestige or social admiration for the wearer. Jewelry is a more of personal object but if you didn’t want others to see it you wouldn’t wear it.

Overall, I don’t think the issue did that great of a job educating the reading and putting a proper spotlight on the designer. The issue could have really show cased the process and the person behind the designs. With more people looking to lab diamonds for their engagement rings, show that these designers are responsibly sourcing materials and labor would be a plus in helping diminish the bad reputation the Jewelry Industry gets on mining.

Demographics of different Medias

Looking at other places to advertise the Superbowl 2019 saw 98.2 million viewers 39.95 were between the ages of 18-49. The 2020 age demographics are not in yet, but we can look at this as about 40% of viewers are between 18-49. The Oscars only had 23.6 million viewers and saw a major drop in there 2020 viewership for 18-49-year olds, in 2019 the viewership was 29.6 million. Looking at Town & Country’s media kit, their readership is 638,000 and the median age is 49.7, skewing two-thirds (66%) female.

Why the Jewelry Industry needs to think inside the box

Depending on what you are selling and who you hope to attract, being in Town & Country if you sell jewelry might be great for you but for the industry not so much. The Oscars are still good for exposure but with drops in viewership and the controversy it can bring it doesn’t allow for controlling your brand as much if you are a designer. The emphasis on reaching younger consumers the Jewelry Industry needs to look at ways to get people talking more positively about jewelry and thinking of it more than just a one-off item you buy for marriage. So why not have a Super bowl ad? I know cost is an issue but there are other alternatives; YouTube ads that you need the audience’s opinion on, create a social media campaign that puts couples in the ad or something else that gets people excited! The focus needs to be how to make jewelry a part of the wearer’s life so the over used response of, ‘It’s beautiful but where would I wear it’ comes less into play.

How I can help

If you are looking for ways to reach your audience and need help in seeing how effective it was then please look me up on Instagram and reach out to me. As a business analyst with several years of Retail Industry experience the questions of how to improve reach affect all sizes of businesses. Let me know your thoughts or questions below and thank you for reading Data in the Rough!

Michele della Valle Online Results: How Sotheby’s Fared in this New Venture

October 8, 2018Michelle

Sotheby’s first online auction dedicated to a single designer, Michele della Valle ended last Monday. In this post I will look at the results of the auction and what can be learned.

Non si può mai attraversare l’oceano se non si ha il coraggio di perdere di vista la riva.

The above saying in English is: You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. That saying feels right when talking about the recent online fine jewelry auction held by Sotheby’s. I will look at the sold versus unsold items and their statistics as a whole, then break it down by type and finally look at some individual pieces that did well at the auction. Also read my predictions and thoughts before the results here.

Sold vs. Unsold (All)

Out of the 111 items designed by Michele della Valle for this online auction only 66 sold. The percentage was 59% sold, 41% unsold. So over half meet the reserve and were sold. The items bid on meet reserve, but what were some of the basic statistics like average dollars of the sold item or number of bids? Below is a table answering that. Note dollars in Swiss Francs (CHF).

The average item sold for 7,884 and had about 6 bids. The most frequent price that sold was 7,500 and the lot had only 2 bids.

To get more detailed we need to look at the results by type.

Sold vs. Unsold (by type)

Above is a table with the counts of lots by type. Earrings were the biggest category at 44 out of 111 lots, next were brooches, then rings. Rings did very well, all but one lot were sold. A table below looks at it by percentage.

Only 38% of brooches sold, earrings saw 32% of their lots unsold. I’m looking more closely at types with ten or more lots to get a better feel of the category. I also looked at the min/max dollars for the sold lots.

Earrings had the largest range, going for as low as 3,000 CHF up to 27,500 CHF.

So, what were some of these high priced items?

Lot with the highest bid

That was a pair of earrings, lot 22, that sold for 27,500 CHF

Lot with the most bids

Lot 14 that had 24 bids, a blue topaz ring.

Piece highest above estimate

There are pieces that are unexpected in what they go for. In this auction a few types did better than others. A table with the break out below.

The rings did the best overall, being 1.6 times higher than the estimates. Earrings were next at 1.33 times. The piece that did better than estimated was lot 97, a pair of earrings that sold for 8.2 times above what Sotheby’s estimated. The final price sold was 21,500 CHF. The estimate was between 1800-2600.

Final thoughts

Obviously, the sale could have gone better, more pieces sold, bids higher, etc. Sotheby’s did a lot right in promoting this auction; they put the auction in their emails and had a video highlighting some pieces. What do I think they could have done better? Educating people on who Michele della Valle is and why his work is something that should be collected. Town and Country just put out about designers to collect, giving some context to where the market is going.

From my quote above, somethings you take those risks and swim out alone. Sometimes those risks work out and other times you need a life guard to steer you to a better path. If you are looking for some guidance in your small business strategy send me an email (data.inthe.rough@gmail.com). Let me know what you’re thinking of trying or challenges you are facing. Until then thank you for reading and I hope you return soon for more Data in the Rough!

The Pinky Ring Campaign: Analyzing a Potential Trend

July 30, 2016July 30, 2016Michelle

Which is more important the product or the marketing? A combination of both is best for getting sustainable results for your business but if you needed to choose one area to improve what would you choose? For the company, Fred and Far, they are focusing their marketing campaign on a common item in the jewelry industry a diamond ring. The marketing gimmick is that the diamond ring is for your pinky. The meaning is to represent self-love. This is not to be confused with a signet ring, that can also be worn on your pinky finger. I heard about this pinky ring from an article from JCK (Jewelers Circular Keystone), that publishes a jewelry insider magazine and has online articles about topics facing the industry. The article is, ‘New Pinky Ring Means I Love Myself ’, a link is included.

I had to learn more about this company and product. This campaign felt similar to the Right Hand Ring Campaign De Beers launched in 2003 and ended in 2005. Ads were in magazines and mainstream media showing strong women with a diamond ring on their right hand. Do you remember any of the advertisements below?

The campaign stopped after two years because De Beers research saw the focus moving from ‘me’ to ‘we’. It looks like Fred and Far are feeling that there is a need for self-love jewelry. I went to their site and saw the campaign front and center on the landing page.

The product is defiantly geared towards women. There are two founders, both women, who started this business in 2015. The company’s Instagram posts started about 5 weeks ago and has just under 9,000 followers. The focus of their media is choosing yourself. Has the thought shifted from ‘we’ to ‘me’? I think that Fred and Far should just expect a niche revolution not a mass revolution. The rings range in price of $150 for a sterling setting and $325 for 14K in the three metal choices, rose, white or yellow gold. At those prices you know that the stone is not a real diamond but a lab grown white sapphire. Pictures of the ring and description from the Fred and Far website below.

At the lower price point I think the campaign will start a mini trend among millennials. I don’t see too many women 40+ buying into the self-love hype. I personally was not moved by the De Beers right hand ring campaign. I wear a ring on my right ring finger but not due to advertising. I also do not need an excuse to buy a diamond ring. If I like it and can afford it I’ll buy it, no encouragement necessary.

Pinky ring in yellow, white, rose gold — *(L) Pinky ring shown in rose, white and yellow gold. (R) Side view of rose gold ring. Photos from Fred and Far website.*

To conclude my thoughts on the pinky ring, I would advise Fred and Far to look at other products to sustain their business long term. This pinky ring is the only item sold on the website for now. That’s one issue I see with the company it is hoping to spark a trend but trends will fade and that pinky ring will be dated. De Beers was smart in that respect it used what it had already to market to a different group and when the trend with that segment ended those rings went on to a new campaign. De Beers right hand rings will not be dated because it was pure marketing not inventing a new product. For those reading did the De Beers campaign convince you to buy a right hand ring? What do you think of this potential pinky ring trend? Do you own a pinky ring that you wear? Have you seen anyone wear a pinky ring like the one above? Thank you for reading and return soon for more Data in the Rough!

pinky ring worn on hand — *Views from Fred and Far Instagram of pinky ring being worn.*