Vendors at The JCK Show ~ Las Vegas received some helpful advice on how to improve a company’s image with simple and cost-effective marketing and branding techniques.
“A lot can be achieved through simplicity and minimalism in advertising,” said Mark Smelzer, publisher of JCK magazine.
Smelzer and Chuck Hargett, JCK creative director of marketing, presented examples of how they helped jewelry manufacturers build their brand, and they also gave examples of other ad campaigns within and outside the jewelry industry.
One of the companies was Sterling Reputation, which had success with a third-page advertisement in JCK. However, company owner Steve Berkowitz decided to focus the company’s marketing on image instead of product. The result was a full-page ad featuring a streamlined selection of product with the tagline, “The Look of Platinum with a Silver Price Tag.”
The new ad, Smelzer said, was very successful at attracting new customers while keeping existing customers and getting them more excited about the company.
The duo also showed a full-page David Yurman advertisement that illustrates the concept of “less is more.” The ad consisted only of the Yurman name and a pearl necklace draped on a model.
“Two words, one piece of jewelry,” Smelzer said. “He’s conveyed a ton of information about the brand.”
As another example they presented Jeweler’s Mutual’s new ad campaign showing a pair of husbands and wives, representing two generations of a jewelry family, with the tagline, “Coverage you can count on … People you can count on.”
“Professional, sophisticated, and shows people in the business,” Smelzer said.
An example of a successful advertisement outside the jewelry industry is the Apple iPod campaign—a silhouette of a person with a white iPod. The ad is used in print and broadcast media.
“They absolutely created a wonderful image for their brand,” Smelzer said.
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