De Beers to push products in India through digital marketing

CHENNAI, Aug 3: Diamond major De Beers is increasing thrust on digital marketing to sell products in India so as to engage potential customers for a longer time and showcase a wider range than TV adverts allow, a top company official has said.
“Globally, the marketing strategy we adopt is different. Two years ago, digital marketing may not have been important for India, but today digital mode of communication is a fantastic marketing vehicle for diamonds,” Fairevermark CEO and Executive Director of De Beers, Stephen Lussier, told.
“If I think about television, I may get your focus for 30 seconds or 20 seconds. Within that I may probably deliver one idea. But in digital, I can engage you for an average of three minutes and I can tell a lot more ideas within that three minutes,” he said.
The challenge, he added, is to create enough interest for the consumer and the companies need to be extraordinarily creative on the digital platform.
“Already we have an application for i-Pads… The challenge in mobile phone space is that you have to make the content work in a smaller space, than what you can do in PCs or even in tablets. But it looks like smartphone is the ticket in the market,” Lussier said.
The company has launched a pilot project in Hong Kong through smartphones where if an individual downloads the mobile application and if one crosses the Forevermark Club or a store, it will tell that shop has got new Forevermark stones, he said.
“You can use just less text and more visuals in a mobile phone. We try to produce basic content globally and the key is you have to adopt it in different market,” he said. (PTI)