Jewellery brands bullish on glittering festive season this year; amp up marketing

As the festive season reaches a crescendo, with Diwali just around the corner, the industry is looking back at this year’s festive season with great satisfaction. Almost all sectors have seen bumper sales as consumer sentiment recovered after two years of subdued living. Along with the other sectors, the jewellery sector, too, is bullish on this year’s festive season. We have been seeing jewellery brands of all hues launch ad campaigns with various offers and new launches to woo the consumers.

The occasion of Dhanteras, which precedes Diwali by a couple of days, is expected to see brisk business. Traditionally, Dhanteras is observed as an auspicious occasion to buy ‘Dhan’ or riches for the home and family. This triggers a frenzy for buying jewellery, gold coins, as well as household utensils. Moreover, the beginning of the wedding season in the country also sees a massive rush in jewellery stores.

For long the family jeweller has been the go-to avenue to purchase jewellery, where trust and word-of-mouth are very strong factors. However, over the years, branded jewellery has made serious inroads in the hitherto largely unorganised market. Brands like Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri, Tanishq, Kalyan Jewellers, PC Jewellers, Malabar Gold & Diamond, Senco Gold, Joy Alukkas, Reliance Jewels, among others, command a sizeable chunk of the jewellery market today. These brands have been investing heavily on marketing and advertising campaigns, using technology to improve manufacturing standards, bringing in several design innovations to cater to different occasions and to suit every budget, and more.

Along with the retail stores, online jewellery platforms have also come up that have been able to win the consumers’ trust – such as CaratLane, Candere, Bluestone, Orra, along with the online buying facility offered by the bigger brands like Tanishq, Kalyan Jewellers, Reliance Jewels, etc.

In keeping with the spirit of the festivals, several brands have launched new collections this year. Reliance Jewels has launched an exquisite collection of fine jewellery, called ‘Kaasyam’. The collection is inspired by the art and culture, temples and architectural marvels that personify Banaras’ rich heritage, tradition and beliefs. Raj Diamonds has launched an exquisite collection, called ‘Futuro’, with ceramic and diamonds in futuristic designs. The new collection features rings, earrings, pendants and an array of several other handcrafted diamond-encrusted jewellery pieces.

Speaking about their plans as for this festive season, Harshna Pasari, Head of Marketing, BlueStone, said, “While we have two versatile collections for Diwali – Onella and Ashta – capturing the best of festivities with a modern twist, we want to give consumers the gift of choice. The first choice we want to extend to consumers is one of design. At BlueStone, we have over 9,000 exquisite designs ranging across 18-22KT gold in yellow, rose, and white finishes and adorned with diamonds, gemstones, pearls and more.”

Pasari further noted, “Given the evolving need of today’s buyers for pieces with day-to-day wearability, all our designs have been crafted keeping in mind where and how these pieces are worn, especially by whom, as we see rising demand in men’s and kid’s jewellery.”

Adding further, she said, “Our choice also extends to where and how they shop our jewellery. We’ve scaled up our omnichannel presence with 140+ stores nationwide and a constantly improving digital address in terms of our website and app, which offers services like Try at Home, customisations and more. Most importantly, we want to extend the choice of wearability. In this context, all our creations are crafted to suit contemporary buyers rather than one who may choose to keep jewellery in a locker.”

“Diwali is a time for celebration and we chose to celebrate women,” said Shyamala Ramanan, Business Head, Mia by Tanishq. Over the years, the ad campaigns by Tanishq for its myriad collections and sub-brands have stood out for making powerful statements on social change and women empowerment. This year is no different. As shared by Ramanan, “As a brand, Mia has always stood for self-expressiveness and this brand philosophy was mirrored in the choice of our seven influencers. These real people lead by living a life full of confidence, optimism, contentment in who they are. Mia celebrates women for who they are in the latest 2-minute musical – ‘This is me’.”

She further said, “Our new festive edit is inspired by “Rise and Shine” and we have over 600 new exclusively designed collections. Bold, glam, statement to chic, minimalist and even kitschy designs make up our collection. Light weight chokers, newer forms of navratna, diamond intensive fluid forms are some of the show stoppers.”

Ramanan observed that increasingly young women are seen to gravitate towards wearable, flaunt-able jewellery and experimenting with newer forms and styling, and added, “We believe wearing a Mia is an investment in the self.”

Mia by Tanishq is promoting the joy of being true to oneself through digital, print and outdoor.

While stating that Diwali is one of the biggest festivals in India and the grandeur of its celebration is something that we all are well acquainted with, Ronak Sahewal, Marketing Manager, Candere, said, “This Diwali, we want to take our customers on a walk down memory lane and recreate a Diwali like the old times. We wanted to tap on the emotion of togetherness and make their Diwali Shaandaar. And in order to do that, we have launched our new collection, ‘Leher - The Weaves of Zardozi’. The collection is inspired by the intricate weaves of zardozi, with a modern touch to a traditional form of embroidery. With an array of products like Rings, Earrings, Necklaces & Bracelets, Leher collection is perfect to glam up festive looks.”

“The festive season is all about celebrating with loved ones and gifting them with memorable gifts, which they can cherish for life,” noted Dishi Somani, Founder of DishiS Jewels. The brand started out this festive season with the launch of its all-new mangalsutra collection, which has been designed and created to complement the latest trends.

She further said, “To create a buzz and maximise our reach, we are promoting our collection through Facebook ads and Instagram ads. Our SEO team is also ready to run with few campaigns around the collection. Our collection is live on our website, and customers can shop for the new collection on Nykaa, Amazon, and other online portals as well. This festive season, in addition to our limited-edition festive collection, we will be offering our committed customer base a wide choice of exceptional discounts and bargains on a variety of our products. During Dhanteras, the festive and wedding season, people consider it auspicious to invest in jewellery. The demand for gold and silver is always high, regardless of the price of the jewellery. We value jewellery not merely as a status symbol, but also as a possible investment asset. We are expecting customers to invest more with us and celebrate their festivals with glittering jewellery.”

Sharing her views, Ankita Srivastava, CMO, Kisna Diamond & Gold Jewellery, noted,  “Diwali being one of the biggest jewellery retail seasons, brands are going the extra mile to leverage and optimise the big-ticket purchases. Communication spends have been enhanced, stories relevant to consumers – whether on type of jewellery or accessibility – are being churned out by brands. Moreover, festive offers on products and new collection launches are lighting up the mood. In the digital space, brands are focusing on influencer marketing and purpose-driven narratives with the launch of digital campaigns.”

When asked about how this festive season is looking for the jewellery sector, Srivastava said that given that the Indian jewellery market is already recovering strongly, consumer sentiments this festive season have picked up in a big way. “Compared to the 2020 and 2021 festive seasons, the big public celebrations are back. We are already seeing an increase in consumer spending. This year, the festive season has brought a lot of positivity and cheer, and we are optimistic that this year will be positive for brands from a sales perspective. Moreover, we have witnessed a demand for real diamond jewellery among consumers during the festive time and we at Kisna are geared up to cater to the evolving trends and consumers’ preferences,” she added.