Hollywood Star to Be New Face of Diamonds

RAPAPORT... The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) will debut its holiday advertising campaign next month, featuring an as-yet-unnamed Hollywood celebrity as the new face of diamonds. "The campaign celebrates the many emotional connections created by diamond jewelry, something that research shows will resonate strongly as we emerge from the crisis," NDC CEO David Kellie said Wednesday in a letter to industry members. Filmed in July, the global campaign will also focus on innovation in diamond-jewelry collections, Kellie added. It will launch fully in the week of September 14, with coverage on national television in the US, China and India, as well as across digital channels. The program is part of the group's efforts to improve consumer engagement with diamonds, a project it has been working on since changing its name from the Diamond Producers Association in June. Its new strategy centers on publishing online content about natural diamonds.In July, daily traffic to the NDC's global websites peaked at a level 20 times higher than the year before, the group noted. Engagements on its social-media platforms are also 30 times higher, while businesses are reporting rises in diamond-jewelry purchases despite lower store traffic.Consumer demand for diamonds during the rest of 2020 will continue to outperform the same period last year, the NDC predicted. The council plans to maintain this growth in 2021, Kellie added."If we speak to our consumer in the language of the 'emotional dream,' and we maximize our opportunities in the many digital environments, then there are undeniably significant opportunities for future growth for natural diamonds," the executive continued. In pre-launch research, the new ads performed in the top 10% of all luxury campaigns for creating purchase intent, Kellie reported. The NDC said its forecasts for traffic and engagement would be 40 to 50 times higher than in its recent history.Image: A hand holding a rough diamond. (Gem Diamonds)