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Will Everlon rope consumers in this holiday?
By Michelle Graff
October 16, 2009
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| The design of pieces in De Beers' "Everlon Diamond Knot Collection," like this pave diamond ring, is based on the Hercules knot, an ancient Greek symbol of strength. |
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London--After months under wraps, De Beers unveiled its "Big Idea" for the fourth quarter, a line of knot-shaped diamond jewelry intended to remind consumers that the strength of a couple's love never unravels, even in the toughest times.
The "Everlon Diamond Knot Collection" motif is based on the Hercules knot, an ancient symbol of strength, with each piece featuring a diamond at the knot's center. De Beers created the Everlon name, product logo and central collection of pieces, but unlike "beacons" of past years, such as Journey or three-stone diamond jewelry, not everyone can pick up Everlon and run with it.
This year, De Beers is sharing the costs of the trademarked program with Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) sightholders that have opted in, as well as retailers who had to pay fees to sell Everlon, says Jamie Caldwell, director of the Diamond Information Center (DIC), De Beers' U.S. marketing arm.
De Beers wouldn't confirm the per-jeweler costs (one jeweler said it was $3,000 per store) but said those dollars will help fund what it calls a "groundbreaking cooperative marketing approach."
Out of the DTC's 79 sightholders, four met the deadline to sign on for Everlon: Elegant Collection/Jasani, JBDM, Pluczenik and Rosy Blue, as did 300 independent retailers and 10 major retailers: Ben Bridge Jeweler, Fred Meyer Jewelers, Helzberg Diamond Shops, J.C. Penney Co., Macy's, Reeds Jewelers, Riddle's Jewelry, Sam's Club, Samuels/Rogers Jewelers and Zale Corp.
Strong enough?
While Everlon's message of enduring love seems like an appropriate pitch to consumers facing unemployment, a shaky job market and mortgage woes, analysts question whether the new campaign is enough.
Among the skeptics is industry analyst Jeff Taraschi, president of Interactive Group Ltd., who says he wishes the campaign luck, but questions how effective it will be.
"I don't think it's powerful enough to move the needle, to accelerate the sales of diamonds in a significant way," he says. "I think it will be a help."
One of Taraschi's criticisms of the campaign is its name and what he considers a less-literal concept behind "Everlon" as compared to the "Past Present Future" theme tied with three-stone anniversary jewelry and the idea of Journey diamond jewelry as being representative of life's journeys.
But Cadwell says the Hercules knot that inspired the collection is an ancient symbol of strength featuring two loops crossed together.
"It's the strength of love forged in a knot. I think it's incredibly applicable in a romantic situation," Cadwell says, adding that the concept can also go beyond the romantic and represent ties between mothers and daughters, sisters or close friends.
De Beers' U.S. consumer research, conducted before Everlon's launch, showed that 61 percent of females and 58 percent of males expressed interest in acquiring an Everlon piece--a pre-launch interest level that has met or exceeded that of other beacons.
Despite the rosy research, De Beers is being conservative with its Everlon projections. Given the lackluster economy, and the more limited distribution of the designs, sales are expected to range between $300 million to $400 million in the first 12 months, says company spokeswoman Lynette Gould.
By comparison, Journey resulted in $1.5 billion in sales between its launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the third quarter of 2007.
A matter of price
One criticism of Everlon is that stocking so many stores with identical, or even just similar designs, could result in markdown madness--as was the case with Journey.
"You're going to take identical items, and before you know it, they're going to butcher them," says industry analyst Ben Janowski of Janos Consultants. "It's going to be a price war."
No matter what the design, some retailers will want to stay away from the De Beers-initiated beacons because of that level of competitiveness, he says.
With Everlon, though, Cadwell says De Beers created the central design motif but is giving participating sightholders and retailers license to create their own interpretations of the design, at price points that start at $199 for sterling silver and range up to the high-end for diamond-intense aspirational pieces.
"They have the room to create designs at price points that are appropriate for their specific consumer segment," she says. "I think that competition is healthy, and I think that, in general, this design and this campaign is going to drive demand for the entire category."
Print advertising for Everlon, which JWT developed on behalf of De Beers, debuted in October publications.
Television commercials, including localized versions tagged by program participants, are set to follow in November, driving consumers to the Web site ADiamondIsForever.com.
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