Societal Changes and the Wedding Band
A recent New York Times piece by Julie Bosman described a new, more lifestyle relevant, advertising campaign for the platinum wedding band industry:
"’What we found is that today’s engaged-age couple really has a very
practical and realistic attitude toward marriage and love,’ said
Michelle Peranteau,
marketing manager for Platinum Guild International. ‘Surprisingly, what
was absent was a romantic notion of love.’ So the group invented a
slogan that it felt described how young adults see marriage: as an
upgrade to their current relationship."
While it may be a bit sad to see romance seeping out of the marriage equation, the move by the Platinum Guild International does seem to fit with today’s less traditional/willing-to-spend-more-to-be-different bridal consumers. For better or for worse (as it were), betrothed couples will forever be faced with identifying ways to make their own experience unique - and the fact that platinum is less common is certainly attractive.
The one niggling omission of this campaign, which I admit is particularly front and center in my brain due to my immersion in solo women’s market research, is any reference to "right hand rings." The idea that a woman might want to buy an expensive ring for herself with no matrimonial purpose isn’t new, and approaching the female jewelry buyer in this way has seen some success since the "right hand" way was introduced a few years back, as per this article .
The Platinum Guild International obviously tuned into current societal trends for well-researched, high-end wedding ring purchases,
as demonstrated by a web site that cleverly includes background
information on platinum care and buying, as well as a "design your own"
tool. They get a lot of points in my book for investing in the modern day ring customer with untraditional notions of marriage. Still, there may well be some lost opportunity in not also serving the most untraditional of
all (for now): prospective right hand ring buyers.
Anyway -
There is no denying it. There are a lot of ways to slice the women’s market: married/unmarried, with kids/ without kids, urban/suburban and so on. No brand or industry can both narrow its focus and still reach all possible women customers with one big campaign, as we all know. So, perhaps the next market for the Platinum Guild International is the "right hand ring" customer. It might be a wise move.
The fact is that there are more than 22 million American women living alone - an 87% increase in the past two decades, according to research conducted for the newly published book, What Women Really Want (Free Press, 2005). Solo women are an untraditional, yet thriving, market, so why don’t you take a whole new look at your industry and see how you might serve them in an unexpectedly relevant way?
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Speaking of solo women (which I’m defining as not living with a partner): If any of my female readers out there are never married, separated, divorced or widowed, of any age, kids or no kids, AND have an interest in sharing your perspective for the greater good of brand marketers, please email me at: andrea@andrealearned.com. Thanks, in advance, for helping me delve more deeply into this topic.
