Top-class marketing
With an award, the Swiss Optimas Signity launches in North America
Swiss Optimas launches Signity in North America with an awardBy Luca AloisiCreativity, talent and skill were the focus of the first Colored Gemstone Design Award 2000 in New York. Behind the jewelry event was gemstone giant Signity, for which Optimas initiated and has the privilege of developing the glittering marketing platform.
The eleven-year-old Brüttiseller communications group Optimas AG includes AG für Marktbearbeitung. This agency, which is active in classic advertising, DM and telemarketing, received an unusual order from Horgen-based Signity in the fall of 1999.
It was special because Optimas Signity's aim was to increase and expand awareness and image value of both the brand and its products in the distant markets of the USA and Canada. The brief was for a marketing concept based on gemstone exhibitions held annually in a different country.
Expansion and development of a luxury brand in the overseas market
Signity is the world's largest machine-cut gemstone company. The company, headquartered in Horgen, Switzerland, sells genuine and synthetic gemstones as well as pearls to jewelers such as Cartier, Bulgari, and Tiffany, and was formed in June 1999 from the joint venture between Swarogem of Austria, a division of D. Swarovski & Co, and Golay Buchel of Vaud.
Thanks to the smooth transition from the parent companies to the new brand, the important trust capital was maintained without loss. Nevertheless, two questions came up for Signity: Which strategy and which agency to choose for the great potential of the important U.S. market?
Because Signity Distribution manages logistics and marketing centrally, Marketing Manager Bernd Stadlwieser kept an eye out for agencies in the neighborhood when looking for partners for communications. And since Optimas is internationally oriented and offers networked market development tools, he found what he was looking for in Brüttisellen.
For the area of genuine gemstones, the Brüttiseller advertising people developed a Design Award. "With a professional market appearance, the Design Award, it should be possible to refresh the already existing marketing concept," says Optimas consultant Patrik Leuenberger.
A dazzling platform, which was designed to appeal to the primary target group and at the same time to generate great media feedback - the Colored Gemstones Design Award 2000. 526 jewelry professionals took the opportunity to use the platform offered, to be part of it, to win and thus to exploit the whole PR effect for themselves.
Due to the success and the good media and public response, Signity wants to institutionalize the event. Because such events work in two directions. They increase
quality awareness, which radiates onto the brand. And the more anonymous environment of such events reduces threshold fears among normal consumers. The event thus provides an ideal setting for the brand to shine in the brilliance of its gems.
Color therapy as an emotional key to the gemstones
The result meant that the communications budget remained with Optimas for the 2001/2002 edition. "There are even talks at the moment of extending the contest to the whole world, so that we can then present the grand finale - the most beautiful piece of jewelry in the world - at the jewelry and watch fair in Basel in 2002," says Bernd Stadlwieser, looking to the marketing future.
For the time being, the agency has already completed the web upgrade for the next contest and prepared the info packs for the pre-registrations for the contest.
The unifying element of last year's campaign - with 40000 mailings to potential participants - was a graphic implementation based on a woman's face as the key visual, which stood out from the facets of a gemstone.
At all stages, the competition was accompanied by the trade press as well as a professional jury: from the direct approach to potential participants - "Your Chance to Shine" - to the exhibition of the 62 finalists and the election of the most beautiful piece of jewelry - "An Invitation to Colorize Your Life".
For Signity, two contest brochures were created with the same look and feel to connect the gems with emotions and emphasize the affinity to the fashion world: one for the trade show event itself, the other as a sales tool.
However, the finalists also beat a PR prize from the event: in addition to a special trade show last summer at New York's Javits Center, their work will appear on the Signity site on the Internet, along with their reference address.
The eleven-year-old Brüttiseller communications group Optimas AG includes AG für Marktbearbeitung. This agency, which is active in classic advertising, DM and telemarketing, received an unusual order from Horgen-based Signity in the fall of 1999.
It was special because Optimas Signity's aim was to increase and expand awareness and image value of both the brand and its products in the distant markets of the USA and Canada. The brief was for a marketing concept based on gemstone exhibitions held annually in a different country.
Expansion and development of a luxury brand in the overseas market
Signity is the world's largest machine-cut gemstone company. The company, headquartered in Horgen, Switzerland, sells genuine and synthetic gemstones as well as pearls to jewelers such as Cartier, Bulgari, and Tiffany, and was formed in June 1999 from the joint venture between Swarogem of Austria, a division of D. Swarovski & Co, and Golay Buchel of Vaud.
Thanks to the smooth transition from the parent companies to the new brand, the important trust capital was maintained without loss. Nevertheless, two questions came up for Signity: Which strategy and which agency to choose for the great potential of the important U.S. market?
Because Signity Distribution manages logistics and marketing centrally, Marketing Manager Bernd Stadlwieser kept an eye out for agencies in the neighborhood when looking for partners for communications. And since Optimas is internationally oriented and offers networked market development tools, he found what he was looking for in Brüttisellen.
For the area of genuine gemstones, the Brüttiseller advertising people developed a Design Award. "With a professional market appearance, the Design Award, it should be possible to refresh the already existing marketing concept," says Optimas consultant Patrik Leuenberger.
A dazzling platform, which was designed to appeal to the primary target group and at the same time to generate great media feedback - the Colored Gemstones Design Award 2000. 526 jewelry professionals took the opportunity to use the platform offered, to be part of it, to win and thus to exploit the whole PR effect for themselves.
Due to the success and the good media and public response, Signity wants to institutionalize the event. Because such events work in two directions. They increase
quality awareness, which radiates onto the brand. And the more anonymous environment of such events reduces threshold fears among normal consumers. The event thus provides an ideal setting for the brand to shine in the brilliance of its gems.
Color therapy as an emotional key to the gemstones
The result meant that the communications budget remained with Optimas for the 2001/2002 edition. "There are even talks at the moment of extending the contest to the whole world, so that we can then present the grand finale - the most beautiful piece of jewelry in the world - at the jewelry and watch fair in Basel in 2002," says Bernd Stadlwieser, looking to the marketing future.
For the time being, the agency has already completed the web upgrade for the next contest and prepared the info packs for the pre-registrations for the contest.
The unifying element of last year's campaign - with 40000 mailings to potential participants - was a graphic implementation based on a woman's face as the key visual, which stood out from the facets of a gemstone.
At all stages, the competition was accompanied by the trade press as well as a professional jury: from the direct approach to potential participants - "Your Chance to Shine" - to the exhibition of the 62 finalists and the election of the most beautiful piece of jewelry - "An Invitation to Colorize Your Life".
For Signity, two contest brochures were created with the same look and feel to connect the gems with emotions and emphasize the affinity to the fashion world: one for the trade show event itself, the other as a sales tool.
However, the finalists also beat a PR prize from the event: in addition to a special trade show last summer at New York's Javits Center, their work will appear on the Signity site on the Internet, along with their reference address.
