Durables

De Beers

De Beers’ contractual agreements with the major diamond-producing nations include not only responsibility for purchasing its diamond production, but also the advertising and promotion of diamond jewellery around the globe.

With a worldwide and diverse audience for jewellery purchase, De Beers’ central advertising objective was to strengthen diamond jewellery’s position as the ultimate gift of love. TV and cinema, rather than the traditional women’s press, were selected as the preferred media for the campaign. They reached a broader target audience, with couples watching together.

Creatively, the “Shadows” campaign generated a strong emotional response and provided the appropriate showcase for the jewellery.

It also worked cross culturally because of its portrayal of intimate anonymity.

Fact box

The campaign has helped De Beers to offset the gloom affecting luxury goods sales, contributing for example an extra eight per cent of retail value sales in the US. Average prices have also increased.

Dyson

The Dyson brand is associated with innovation, radical styling and revolutionary technology.

Designed specifically for use in the home, the Dyson Dual Cyclone vacuum is the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner. It is priced at the top end of the market but the appeal of the range crosses demographic boundaries.

With 94 per cent weighted distribution – including mail order, electrical stores and department stores – Dyson is one of the best distributed product ranges in its market. As well as using press ads, Dyson also invested in a small TV campaign to reach as wide a market as possible and avoid the possible perception of it as a niche product. Word-of-mouth promotion has also been a key factor in the product’s success.

Fact box

The DCO2 has to date gained 77.2 per cent of the premium cylinder cleaner market, while the DCO1 outsells its competitors in the upright market by 5:1 (source GfK Leftrak 1996). Dyson became the number one brand in the UK floorcare market in October 1996.

Sony Playstation

PlayStation straddles both the toys/games market and the consumer electronics market. More specifically, it operates in the video games category, an industry which exploded during the early Nineties. After a successful launch in 1995, the task for 1996 was not only to maintain credibility but also to market PlayStation games to owners, while marketing PlayStation to non-owners – all on the same budget.

“Chill out areas” were created at key events such as the Brit Awards, the Independence Day Premiere Party and the Oasis Knebworth concert. More than 450 clubs throughout the UK play a continuing series of visual tapes and PlayStation also sponsors events such as snowboarding, snakeboarding and breakdancing. The mass market was targeted at roadshows in shopping centres and holiday resorts, plus product placement/sampling in bars and restaurants.>

Fact box

In 1996, PlayStation sold over 500,000 consoles in the UK, cornering nearly 80 per cent of the 32-bit market. The brand achieved nearly 75 per cent spontaneous awareness as it has built a powerful image among the core eight to 30-year-old market.