Evolution:
Over the years it was quite interesting for those who watched the evolution of jewellery advertising, especially from Kerala market. Mind you, Kerala is known more as Gold’s own country rather than God’s own country now.
Flashback (1990 – 1995):
Jewellery advertising took the major share of all the media space in Kerala and jewellery retail showrooms widened their branches to every nook & corner of Kerala. All the jewellery groups were vying for the same market share and this eventually lead to an all out fight among them. Mudslinging ads on quality & price were the order of the day. It was those days when an average gold customer (here read gold jewellery customer) didn’t have standards to compare either the quality or price. Not even a single jewellery group thought about branding or positioning which involved long term planning. It was interesting to see retail jewellery advertisements in the back page of leading newspapers with contradicting claims, ofcourse placed next to each other. The messages were quite interesting, some even hilarious;
Lowest price – later this lead to price wars (customer ended up being a loser with low quality gold in their hands)
Biggest showroom – including biggest in Kerala, India, world & universe being the messages (till this date I don’t have a clue why this is used repeatedly in most retail ads from Kerala. Have anyone thought it from the customer’s angle. Is there a customer who would go to a showroom just because it is too big, unless otherwise he could ride his vehicle inside the showroom?)
Marriage – every single ad was used to lure the marriage target audience towards gold purchase. It was, for the most part still is, as if inviting you into a jewellery showroom only if your son or daughter is getting married in the near future.
Quality – it is hilarious to look back to this aspect in ads those days. 916 gold was just being introduced in the market. Kerala jewellery, Bengal jewellery, Calcutta collections were used to denote different quality jewellery. BIS as a standard for gold jewellery was in its nascent stage.
Making charge – this is the single most terminology in god jewellery market which even today the consumer can’t comprehend. Lowest making charges were the order of the day which even extended to ‘No making charges’. There was even a TVC of a jewellery retailer which said ‘’Why pay making charges for your jewellery when you don’t pay making charges for your shoes?”!!!
916 – the ultimate salvation
Then came the standardization in gold jewellery market. BIS logo & 916 are integral part of any gold jewellery ad in Kerala. Though most consumers didn’t know what 916 meant, they demanded the retailers for this feature in the product. Most of the jewellery groups started thinking about branding & positioning. Also they expanded to nearby states (Kerala jewellery retailers are now the leading players in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka). This resulted in the entry of Brand ambassadors , which of course is the easy way out to make an impact. The hunt for filmstars were on. Mohanlal for Malabar Gold, Mammootty, Dileep, Prabhu for Kalyan Jewellers, Madhavan for Joy Alukkas, Vijay for Jos Alukkas, Vikram for Josco Jewellers and the list goes on. Most of the smaller players who didn’t dream that one day consumer will demand for a quality standard for Gold jewellery were shocked and are still reeling under its impact. Those who cried out no making charges & lowest prices are now out in the dark not knowing where to head next.
Today
Some smart marketers in the jewellery retail sector in Kerala saw the future early and they invested on their long term plans to create an identity for their brand. I still remember when one jewellery brand introduced MRP tags on their jewellery, most people thought they were crazy to invest on this message but they are one of the jewellery brands which is most associated with the word ‘Trust’ in the present jewellery market. Today gold consumer has more evolved and knows that quality comes with a price. Even the so-called marriage-gold consumer sees Gold as an investment and is not ready to compromise on the quality of the product they purchase. Ofcourse the steep increase in the gold bullion prices have made a huge impact on the gold consumer. Those marketers who have invested on their brand identity are now expanding their customer base and consolidating like never before.
For eg., Joy alukkas - one of the first group to invest heavily & consistently in branding now stands above most of the other retailers in their brand identity.
Malabar Gold – consistently created communication messages around culture which even used social messages like clean city as a tool. Now has extended this plank to culture & traditions in weddings across India.
Kalyan Jewellers – always created communication messages which were way ahead of the rest, they are one of the brands that now has top of the mind recall among Keralites
Jos Alukkas – though late in recognizing the need for effective branding, has now grown leaps and bounds in creating a better brand identity
Bhima – consistently tried to communicate about quality gold and for Keralites Bhima gold stands for quality now.
Tomorrow
Consumers will become more demanding in this sector. Those who advertise for this month’s sale are living in fool’s paradise. Gold will be seen as an investment product rather than just a dowry product. Investment & determination to create a USP for the brand is the only way ahead. This needs consistency in communication messages. Designs & product innovations will be the future of gold jewellery market rather than price. Jewellery retail showrooms which provide top class customer service & latest designs only will thrive. With the entry of bigger players into retail jewellery market, competition will get tougher and only those who foresee the future of gold jewellery will come out winners. Almost always a jewellery client when confronted with the question who are we talking to or who is our TG, the answer would be mass market!! Its time to move ahead and decide who your mass is.