Executive Summary

In 2017, the following generation of customers prepared to become engaged to be married –

millennials – showed totally different preferences and consumption patterns than earlier
generations had shown. In response, the De Beers Group of Companies (De Beers), market leader
within the global diamond industry, was making steps to conquer this important market. In
partnership with the world’s six other leading diamond firms, known collectively as the Diamond
Producers Association, De Beers started a campaign titled “Real is Rare” with the goal of
influencing millennials that diamonds were an ultimate symbol of commitment, even in 2017.
Could these marketing attempts be successful in changing the mindset of millennials, or would the
campaign fail completely? Could diamond engagement rings continue to be an important symbol
of commitment? What could De Beers do to boost sales of diamonds in a rapidly changing world?

A. Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning of De Beers Diamonds

Segmentation

Segmentation Products and Services

Types of Segmentation Segmentation Criteria Diamond-Based Jewelry
Geographic Region US and International
Density Urban
Demographic Age 20 – 45 (Millennials)
Gender Males & Females
Income Medium to High
Occupation Professionals
Life stages - Young
- Engaged
- Married
- Prosperous
Behavioral Loyalty Hard-core loyal
 Benefits - Self-expression
- Stylish
- Real sense of
achievements
Personality - Ambitious
- Luxury-seekers
- Being real
- Love personalization
Psychographic Social class Middle and Upper
Lifestyle - Socially aware
- Active young
professionals

Targeting

By 2017, United States, China, India, and Japan are the top four largest markets for diamonds.
Together, the four countries accumulated for about 73 percent of global diamond demand. Within
these countries, about 39 percent of potential customers were millennials. That is about 220 million
individuals.

Potential customer’s profile of De Beers are medium to high-income professionals aged 20 to 45

year old that are being real, loves customizing, socially aware, luxury-seekers, stylish individual,
and are planning to be engaged or getting married. In shorter words, millennials that value real
connection so much more.

Positioning

Positioning Statement:

- Target segment: Millennials

- Point of difference: Ultimate symbol of emotional commitment.
- Points of parity: Diamond.

“Real is Rare. Real is Diamond”

The “Real is Rare” campaign attempted to position real diamonds as the ultimate symbol of
emotional commitment between millennials.

B. Purchase Decision Drivers

SWOT Analysis
Strength Weakness
- High quality products - Premium pricing
- Social-gaining products - Volatile industry
- Market leader - Poor investment potential
- Aggressive marketing campaign - Negative publicity
- Diversified into alternative products - High production costs
- Supporting environmental sustainability
Opportunity Threat
- Development of new product lines - Slowing market growth
- Expansion of distribution network - Change of consumption patterns
- Penetrating the emerging markets
- Significant R&D to improve efficiency
- Environmental friendly production
- Second-hand market
- Online diamond marketplace
- Customized products
Based on SWOT analysis and STP analysis, people buy diamond because it is perceived as a
luxurious and premium product, a symbol of self-achievement, and also to show an emotional
commitment between millennials in a form of jewelry.

C. Recommended Marketing Strategy

1. 4Ps of Marketing Mix
 Product
- Diamond engagement rings for millennials that are planning to engage or even getting married.
- Synthetic diamonds to cover the price-sensitive millennials.
- Pre-loved diamonds are also available to cover lower segments.
- The alternatives to engagement rings are diamond pendant necklaces, diamond bracelets, and
non-traditional diamond rings.
 Price
- Real diamond-based products to cover the high-end market segments.
- Synthetic diamonds and pre-loved diamonds for the lower market segments.
 Promotion
- Partnering with the world’s six other leading firms in diamond industry as the Diamond
Producers Association (DPA)
- Through the partnership, De Beers Launched a campaign titled “Rare is Rare” to attract
millennials.
- DPA could use YouTube to stream the advertisements.
- DPA could sponsor online articles to promote their product lines.
 Place
- Second-hand market for the pre-loved products
- Online marketplace for a wider access for reaching the customers
- Retail stores for customers in order to experience the products before making transactions.

Based on the marketing mix analysis, I recommend De Beers to maximize their partnership with
DPA even more. They could launch a marketing aggressive campaign, use social media ads or
online articles to increase their brand awareness and deliver their messages. They could also use
role model in their ads to increase the perceived value of their campaign.

But, in the end, it doesn’t matter how aggressive the marketing campaign. If De Beers couldn’t
differentiate their products even more, they would not gain that much advantages. Marketing
campaign is only for short term, but the product innovation and differentiation will build a long
term advantages, in order to gain more customers.

What I recommend is, with respect to its marketing strategy, differentiating products is the most
important things to do for De Beers. Instead of making diamond-based jewelry, they could
differentiate into diamond-based watches, figurines, crystal, etc. Since millennials is also the kind
of luxury-seekers, this kind of differentiated products would fulfill their needs.