As wedding season starts to ramp up, one jewelry company launched a new campaign designed to highlight women-led marriage proposals, both to celebrate “love, equality, and empowerment” as well as the trends of couples shopping together for engagement rings.
This week, Zales kicked off its #SheProposed campaign, literally flipping its logo upside down throughout its digital advertisements, website, and social pages, to promote the idea of “shaking up” traditional engagement norms.
Zales also encouraged its clients and couples to post messages about their own proposals using #SheProposed, with National Proposal Day (March 20) as a launchpad for the overall campaign.
Among the data Zales has collected around this #SheProposed trend includes that 95% of men in a Match.com Singles in America survey showed they want a woman to make the first move in dating, and a Chillisauce survey on marriage proposals shows that 76% of men say women can propose marriage, and 57% of women say they are willing to pop the question.
JCK spoke to John McNamara, vice president of marketing for Zales and Peoples, about the hashtag and bridal trends.
The #SheProposed hashtag covers couples of all genders, situations, and moments in life. Why did Zales want to highlight its support for empowering women in the proposal process?
We’ve been seeing a rise of couples shopping for their rings together, and we appreciate that every relationship is different. Our Zales customers are traditionally bold statement makers. The Zales #SheProposed campaign is inspired by women and couples who choose to create their own engagement and bridal traditions. With our purpose of inspiring love as a guide, Zales wants to be there for women who decide to take the lead and propose. The purpose of the hashtag is to empower women to “flip the script” as they take this important, emotional step in celebrating life and expressing their love.
How did you come up with the flipped logo, and what does it mean to you?
We wanted to come up with an innovative, fun, and attention-grabbing way to further promote women “flipping the script” on traditional proposals by actually flipping the Zales logo. By flipping it upside down, we’re visually promoting and shaking up traditional norms. We’re doing this across our website and social media for National Proposal Day, but the flipped logo will live on through May 1 [with] our in-store digital advertising.
What’s new with engagement styles for your brand?
At Zales, we’re seeing an uptick in fancy bands for men, especially those with diamonds. Our Vera Wang Love collection has a baguette diamond style and a square diamond solitaire centerpiece that we’re highlighting for the #SheProposed campaign. For women’s rings, we’re showcasing the Celebration Ideal Diamond Frame bridal set, which is designed to brilliantly enhance the sparkle and shine. A few other engagement ring trends we’re seeing at Zales are oval-cut shapes, bridal sets, and solitaire designs.
Top: Among the rings Zales is using in its #SheProposed campaign is this Vera Wang Love collection limited-edition wedding band in 14k white gold featuring a 0.07 ct. t.w. baguette diamond trio; $895.20. The blue sapphire, set inside the shank, is a symbol of love and faithfulness (all photos courtesy of Zales).
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