​ ​Marketing Management

Case Summary
DE BEERS GROUP: MARKETING DIAMONDS TO MILLENNIALS

Syndicate Group 5
Riasky Widar D. - 29320087
Bella Nadhifah A. - 29320088
Fachry Arrazy - 29320090
Fadhila Afifah - 29320093
Reyner Farras - 29320097
Kevin Apriano M. - 29320101

Background
For a long time, De Beers Consolidated Mines (De Beers) be the top of the global
diamond industry for many years, support prices at all stages of the value chain, reduce price
volatility, and increase customer demand. Cecil Rhodes founded de beers mining company in
1880 based on monopoly. By 1888, 95% of the world’s diamonds were controlled by De Beers
using its inventory to hold diamonds.
In 1919 Oppenheimer’s mines purchased by De Beers, and they expected a return for
their stock. And by 1929, Oppenheimer’s firm, the Anglo American Corporation, controlled De
Beers. In the same year, Oppenheimer stretched his action up the value chain by formulating
the Central Selling Organization (CSO), in response to the threat of Depression as a marketing
branch of De Beers, the only source in the world for rough diamonds is Central Selling
Organization (CSO), and in response to global demand, they can regulate global supply. The
power that De Beers held can decide the number of diamonds available to the worldwide market
at any given time. De Beers has influenced the diamond Market and urges sell virtually, so the
world’s diamond miners and all of their diamonds sell through the CSO. With such great power,
De Beers can prevent price voting and continue to raise prices.

Key Problem
The problem of "conflict diamond" where violence is to get a diamond and funded by the
company. Due to outcry from many parties, The Kimberly Process was created. The certification
process aimed at ending the trade of conflict diamonds. It was facilitated by cooperation
between almost eighty governments as well as non-governmental organizations. Nearly all
diamond-producing and trading countries were involved in the Kimberly Process.
The second issue is the interest in diamond engagement rings was starting to decline
due to some negative attention. The trend of diamonds in millennials was falling flat. Some
factors could be identified by the characteristic of millennials and the situation when they were.
One factor that contributed to changing preferences was millennials’ relatively lower purchasing
power and higher debt levels, partly due to higher education costs and challenging job markets.
It effected to their ability to purchase luxury items. The other factor were the fact that millennials
 ​ ​Marketing Management

were getting married later in life than their parents and grandparents or not getting married at
all. Regarding the lifecycle stages and purchasing power, millennial customers had high-value
consciousness and significant concerns related to environmental sustainability and social
responsibility. Millennials were known to take a more skeptical view of the premium jewelry
industry and they prefer highly personalized and individual products.

De Beers’ Campaign
De Beers’ great success the first time was in 1938 when De Beers initiated a marketing
campaign aimed to persuade the customers that diamond engagement rings were an
indispensable part of deciding to get married. In 1947, De Beers’ reiterated their success selling
diamonds for engagement rings through their famous slogan “A Diamond is Forever”. It lead
them to the most impressive outcomes, diamond rings were a part of roughly 80% of all
engagements in the United States by 1950.
Years later, De Beers’ success in selling the trend of diamond engagement rings
continued to have a significant impact on the company. The significant impact of selling for the
company continued until 2015 with 40% of global diamond sales. In the 1960s and 1970s, De
Beers combatted the trend of younger generations breaking with traditions using advertising
lines such as, “Yes, you can get married barefoot on a beach, but don’t you still want a beautiful
ring?”. In the 1980s, a De Beers advertisement series asked consumers, “Isn’t two months’
salary a small price to pay for something that lasts forever?”. De Beers also tried to cultivate the
desire for men to wear diamond rings, and it encouraged unmarried women, including
divorcées, widows, and others, to purchase their own rings.
Due to concerns related to value, social responsibility, and individuality, many millennials
considered alternatives to diamonds, De Beers entered the market for diamond alternatives with
its company Element Six which sold synthetic diamonds but for industrial purposes only. Also,
De Beers had piloted a pre-owned diamond program for its Forevermark brand jewellery at
limited participating jewellers. Its program offered valuation and buyback of “pre-loved”
diamonds.

Conclusion
Our conclusion De Beers tries to replace his focus on the conventional monopoly style
from controlling global supply, and now they are shifting to make the brand more value through
branding and marketing. Because millennials have a high proportion of diamond sales,
Millenials are more aware of the brand value and see how the company contributes to
sustainability. De Beers, also with a significant player in the upstream diamond industry, joined
to form the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) to develop the diamond sector further. To
change consumer preferences for diamonds, the DPA launched an advertising campaign in
2016 with the slogan “Real is Rare. Real is a Diamond.” The “Real is Rare” campaign attempted
to position “true” (or mined) diamonds as the ultimate symbol of emotional commitment between
millennials.