2006

DTC Boosts Ad Plans for 2006

June 2006

The Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) and its U.S. marketing arm, JWT, announced a 17 percent increase in media spending over its previously proposed plan for 2006.

"In 2005, diamond sales increased for the 10th consecutive year," said Richard Lennox, director in charge of the diamond group at JWT, in a media release. "We recognized that we can grow the market at an even faster rate by increasing the dollars we spend on media exposure."

The increase will include an expansion of its Journey campaign launch, which has been moved up to August. Spending on the launch of Journey will increase 65 percent from the original plan and will include a 60-second television ad and two-page spreads in print publications.

Journey departs from the Right Hand Ring campaign and focuses on graduated diamond jewelry and is the DTC's first "gift of love" program since Past, Present and Future boosted the three stone market in 2005.

Along with the major promotion of Journey, the DTC will also continue to support its ongoing programs, like the three stone "past present future" initiative. According to J. Walter Thompson, 87 percent of women in the United States do not have a three-stone ring, thus representing possible growth in that area.

The increased expenditure by DTC will support continued promotion of the three stone and right hand ring initiatives, along with a holiday advertising program in the fourth quarter. They will add five incremental weeks of its television commercial "Hands" during the summer and will increase print insertions of "Timeline", featuring three stone jewelry and the Past Present Future slogan.

The right hand ring market-which JWT said has increased by 15 percent annually since the program's launch in 2003-will get a boost from an insert in the September fall fashion issue of Lucky magazine, which will include some participation from the trade.