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Annual Forevermark Forum Addresses Change; Launches New Ad Campaign April 13, 2016 (0 comments)
Phoenix, AZ—The fifth annual Forevermark Forum, which took place last week at the Biltmore Arizona, drew together nearly 500 Forevermark partners in the spirit of collaboration. The theme of the conference, “Better Together,” urged Forevermark jewelers, manufacturers, diamantaires, and industry leaders to join together to solve the diamond industry’s most pressing issues.
“Forevermark was created five years ago to address industry issues and bring margins back to diamonds. It has been our top priority to do everything we can to help our partners be more successful, and only in doing so have we found success. In 2016, we will continue to build the Forevermark brand, dialing up our responsible sourcing messaging, supporting emotionally driven products, and featuring specific call-to-action creative in Q4,” said Charles Stanley, president of Forevermark US (top left).
Over three days, the show floor buzzed with Forevermark partners conducting business, sharing sales strategies, and participating in seminars and workshops focused on strengthening overall diamond business.
Industry issues like synthetics and the commoditization of diamonds were top of mind. Speaking to a packed house, Stanley and Forevermark CEO Stephen Lussier kicked off the conference with a seminar on sustaining trust in diamonds, highlighting Forevermark’s commitment to challenging industry issues with its core values of rigorous selection and integrity.
Guest speakers included Peter Sheahan, CEO of Karrikins Group and Mark Barden, a partner in the highly-regarded consulting firm eatbigfish, which coined the term “Challenger Brand” in its book Eating the Big Fish. Sheahan made his return to the Forevermark Forum after giving last year’s keynote address, and conducted two highly interactive break-out-sessions focused on sharing strategies to turn challenge into opportunity, and change into competitive advantage.
In his keynote address, Barden charged forum attendees to utilize the Forevermark brand to challenge norms in the diamond category and overcome obstacles, leading to greater differentiation and success.
“From its inception, Forevermark has been a challenger brand, and as such, we are driving competitive advantage for our partners all over the world. Together, we can collectively take on the challenges that are before us today, transform those challenges to opportunities, and drive our competitive advantage toward a simple objective, a more profitable and sustainable diamond business for all of us,” says Lussier.
The brand announced the launch of a new marketing and advertising campaign focused on responsible sourcing, one of its key attributes. The campaign, which will feature print and digital creative, will focus on Forevermark’s initiatives to give back to the communities from which its diamonds come. A responsible sourcing toolkit will be available to all Forevermark jewelers, enabling them to take advantage of this content in their local campaigns, on jeweler websites, and in-store. The first national responsible sourcing print ad, shown below here, bows in the May issue of Town & Country.
Also launched was the Forevermark Carat Club incentive, rewarding the top Forevermark sales ambassadors annually. Lussier and Stanley presented 17 inaugural members of the Carat Club with a Forevermark diamond pin to recognize that each sold in excess of 20 carats of one-carat and above Forevermark diamonds in 2015. Carat Club winners will receive a trip to the Victor mine in Ontario, Canada, to experience the journey of a Forevermark diamond first hand.
The 2016 Carat Club incentive will run through the entire year and sales ambassadors will need to sell 35 carats or more of one-carat plus Forevermark diamonds. The top 20 winners will receive an exclusive trip to London to visit the Forevermark headquarters. They will also visit the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels as well as experience an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Forevermark Diamond Institute in Antwerp, Belgium.