NDC CEO Amber Pepper outlined the strategy during a trade meeting with the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) in Mumbai. GJEPC became a member of the NDC earlier this year.
According to Pepper, industry unity, category marketing, organisation evolution, consumer design, cultural relevance, and category protection will be the ‘pillars’ of the strategy.
The NDC will reportedly devote at least 80 per cent of its advertising directly at consumers and create a data-driven ‘desire index’ to track the results of marketing material. JCK Online published a report summarising the key features of the campaign.
“It’s great to see the interest and excitement around the future focus of the Natural Diamond Council. Working closely with our partners across the industry, we are designing a strategy fit for a new era in natural diamonds,” a statement from the NDC reads.
“Natural diamonds remain one of the world’s most remarkable luxuries. As we shape this next chapter, a key focus will be putting the consumer at the centre, driving demand by reigniting desire through cultural relevance and establishing a distinct position for the category for the next decade. We look forward to sharing more detail on the plan in the months ahead.”
Among the key features of the strategy is an initiative described as the ‘Natural Diamond Mark’. This is a consumer ‘trust mark’ intended for inscriptions on natural diamonds and jewellery, with the aim of establishing a globally recognised symbol that helps consumers easily distinguish these products in comparison with lab-created diamonds.
It's not an entirely new concept in the broader diamond and jewellery industry; however, previous attempts at such an initiative have fallen flat. Industry analyst Paul Zimnisky proposed a similar idea in his contribution for Jeweller's Great Diamond Debate III.
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