The Rules One Retailer’s Using to Market to Millennials

Baltimore--Smyth Jewelers has a new advertising campaign that recognizes the ways the millennial generation has changed the rules when it comes to dating, cohabitation and getting engaged.

Called the “New Rules of Engagement,” the campaign features a total of 50 rules, the do’s and don’ts of the engagement ring journey (like Rule No. 42: You know it’s meant to be when he shares his Netflix password.)

All 50 rules can be seen on the retailer’s website.

Smyth Jewelers said the campaign was designed to reflect the changes in how Generation Y navigate relationships, how they share and receive information and how they decide what they want to buy.

Spearheaded by Smyth’s advertising agency, TBC Inc. of Fells Point, Maryland, it will run on social media with Facebook video ads as well as paid and organic Pinterest placements.

Select bars throughout downtown Baltimore, Ellicott City and Annapolis will have coasters with blank spaces inviting patrons to write in their own rules, then take a picture and share on social media using the hashtag #SmythRules. These from-the-bar shared snapshots could be added to the campaign as official rules.

Smyth Jewelers will sponsor popular local events and programs including social sports leagues and radio station WTMD’s First Thursday concert series.

The retailer also will utilize a few traditional outlets for its “Rules” campaign: outdoor advertisements, in-store signage and on the radio.

“Millennials have spurred a total shift in relationship ‘rules’ across the board, whether it’s spending three months’ salary on an engagement ring or waiting until a couple is married to live together. These rules, among many others, have become outdated,” said Smyth Jewelers President Tom Smyth. “This campaign reflects those changes, and speaks to how the proposal process is now a very personal yet public, festive event.”

Smyth Jewelers has been in business since 1914 and has three stores, in Timonium, Annapolis and Ellicott City, Maryland.