Leo Schachter, a leading fine diamond company and creator of the Leo Cut diamond, utilized a new technology that could make an even more colorful diamond – The First Light diamond. The market had never seen anything like it. We wanted to ensure a powerful impact that would entice buyers and educate them on this new diamond technology, so we conducted a study to find out what diamond consumers really thought about the industry.

The Health Check

For this project, we completed an expansive Health Check that included a full immersion focus group, a Qualtrics market segment survey, and our traditional competitor and conversation analysis.

In our focus groups, participants were able to experience the diamond firsthand. They reviewed four marketing concepts and were given a survey and interview to determine their buying and premium interest.

Here were some results we gathered:

• 14 out of 20 unmarried millennials preferred the diamond with a more colorful sparkle over a traditional diamond.
• 15 of out 28 participants were willing to pay 10% or more for a diamond with a more colorful sparkle.

The feedback we received from the focus group informed our direction for our double opt-in survey. The participants focused on the following items: concepts, tagline, technology name, buying interest, and premium interest. We had 940 total participants (100% were in a relationship and were planning on buying an engagement ring within the following 24 months).

The survey gave us the following insights:

• 74.4% strongly agree/agree that this story makes me want to learn more about this diamond.
• 74.6% are extremely likely/somewhat likely to purchase a diamond with a colorful sparkle created using nanotechnology.

The Opportunity

Millennials are getting married later and purchasing fewer diamonds (Martin, CNBC). When surveyed, millennials still insist that they believe in love and marriage, but they differentiate themselves from their parents by making, what they feel are, unique and innovative choices. The most important insight is that they value experiences over things. Utilizing the millennial’s sense of meaning and adventure, we can immerse the consumer in a brand that highlights life that is alive and explodes with color— the color of new experiences and adventures that enrich our lives.

Connection Plan

Strategy Statement: Create captivating content for Facebook and Instagram that allows our audience to emotionally connect to First Light, fall in love with the brand and concept, and ultimately purchase the diamond by visiting one of the 50 Jared test locations.

Audience: Primarily young men and women between the ages of 21 and 39 who are beginning the new and exciting search for a ring. The secondary audience is composed of men and women ages 40+ who are looking to upgrade their ring for a special occasion.

Messaging Categories: The following content mix is designed to target our audience with an ongoing conversation that hits on key touch points needed for a purchase of this type:

• First Light: Brand Language and Images. Language and images that are brand specific and educate the audience on reasons why they should buy a First Light Diamond.
• Technology: Informational. Technology posts will educate audience members about the patented Fire Prism technology and reveal what makes First Light so revolutionary.
• Color Your Love: Emotional. Content pieces that evoke emotion from the audience through the use of color. Quotes, lifestyle, and colorful content will emotionally connect audiences to the brand.

Results

We created the First Light Diamond Facebook and Instagram pages. Over the course of a year, we accomplished the following:

• 1,818,892 Impressions
• 924,409 People Reached
• 42,817 New Followers
• 161,764 Engagements
• 18,954 Link Clicks

The brand started in 50 Jared’s locations as a test. Over the course of the year, the brand proved to be successful and was expanded to all the 274 US Jared’s locations, and then all the 3,000 Kay’s Jewelers US locations as well.