Leaving a mark

It received a lot of positive social-media feedback in Rob Bates’ annual review of the big retailers’ Christmas spots and, according to a press release from Forevermark--which also cited a number of positive tweets--traffic to its website spiked 704 percent after the commercial debuted in mid-November.

Nothing is as convincing that a product is seeing success, though, as an unsolicited comment from a retailer. 

Last week while interviewing Jeffrey Mann, of Jeffrey Mann Fine Jewelers in Toledo, Ohio, he brought up Forevermark when talking about the stellar season he is having at his store. He said though he had some initial hesitation about buying into the program, he’s now “thrilled” that he did so, as a number of customers already have walked in the door asking about--and, more importantly, buying--Forevermark jewelry after seeing the commercials.

“The ‘Center of My Universe’ is definitely going to be a talked-about item,” he says.

Well before my conversation with Mann last Monday, I remembered hearing via a colleague here that a supplier at one of the trade shows said he expected Forevermark was going to be big in the United States.

Mann agreed with that assessment.
“I concur, 100 percent,” he said. “I see it only getting better. We’re in (its) infancy. For us in a small market, it’s been tremendous.”

It’s interesting to hear positive feedback on such a new brand. It’s also interesting that everybody is so excited about the Forevermark TV campaign, especially since the brand swore its first year in existence that television was not the place to advertise it. It was not, they said at the time, “an effective medium for this brand.”

In speaking with Charles Stanley, president at Forevermark U.S. Inc., last week I asked him if the brand now regretted not doing a holiday TV campaign its first year in the U.S. market. While he didn’t answer the question directly, he did say, “What it taught us is: as a diamond brand wishing to engage consumers emotionally, TV is clearly an excellent medium to get that message across. It probably will remain part of our media mix going forward.”

Another element of Forevermark marketing that will remain in place for the foreseeable future is “Center of My Universe,” the halo-centric design and advertising campaign. Stanley said they will be sticking to Center through at least 2013.

This is, of course, not to