DPA to Amplify Female Self-Purchasing Message

RAPAPORT... The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) is planning a campaign focused on boosting demand among female self-purchasers. "We've started the creative process with the idea of expanding the territory of our Real is Rare campaign," CEO Jean-Marc Lieberherr told Rapaport News at the JCK Las Vegas show. The DPA, which runs category marketing on behalf of the diamond industry, launched its Real is Rare campaign in 2016, aimed at embedding the idea of diamonds as a symbol of love and relationships among millennial couples. The organization spent $40 million on Real is Rare in the US between June 2017 and June 2018, generating 1.5 billion media impressions among millennials, its targeted audience, the organization reported Monday. The DPA channeled 43% of its budget to television and digital video, 42% to social media, 10% to print advertising and 5% to out-of-home platforms such as cinema.The DPA has a budget of $70 million for 2018, funded predominantly by De Beers and Alrosa, with contributions from five other major diamond-mining companies. It will spend $20 million in the second half of the year, split between the new campaign, which is expected to debut in September, and its continued work aimed at millennials. The new focus aligns the DPA's messaging with De Beers' marketing, which has targeted female self-purchasers in the past year. The miner announced this week it would continue the same theme for the 2018 holiday season.The DPA is also planning to launch its first campaign in China in July, adapting its Real is Rare campaign to local millennial consumers. Testing the testersAmong its other projects, the DPA is preparing a report to be published by the end of the year outlining the capabilities of the various synthetic testing machines, Lieberherr said. The group, which is in the process of finalizing its testing standards, is in discussions with equipment manufacturers to participate in the program. "Our plan is to get the testing done in the second quarter and get the report out by the end of the year," he said. The machines' performance will be tested with a mixed sample of more than 1,000 carats of natural and lab-grown diamonds, including High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) goods.About 20 manufacturers and 50 pieces of equipment are expected to take part in the program, Lieberherr said. Image: Stephanie Lena Lee/Shutterstock