Influencers and user-generated content drive CaratLane's digital marketing strategy

Indian jewellery brand CaratLane’s latest campaign Wear your wins is an interesting conversation around women's empowerment. The initiative aims to empower women by encouraging them to celebrate their achievements, both big and small, through the act of adorning themselves with jewellery.

Jennifer Pandya, VP of Marketing at CaratLane, sheds light on the campaign's origins: "A few months ago, we were doing a study to understand our consumers. We found that women like to buy jewellery to mark their personal milestones. The jewellery is increasingly becoming a symbol of self-reward for women."

But, the brand also found that women often undermine their own victories, and attribute their wins to other factors. This insight became the foundation for the new campaign, which aims to spark conversations about women celebrating their own wins, big or small. 

The campaign, conceptualised in partnership with creative agency BBH, seeks to fill a void in the market in terms of narratives around women celebrating themselves. Pandya explains, "We realised that no brands own this space. And a lot of brands in this category appear to have talked about women's empowerment, but this discussion is still very much potent."

The campaign also features content creator and designer Nancy Tyagi, who recently made headlines by walking the Cannes Film Festival red carpet in a self-designed gown, complemented by CaratLane jewellery. Pandya elaborates on the choice, "We saw that her story was very unique, that she had really made it this far on her own. And the fact that she was designing her own attire for the event resonated with us a lot. We as a brand have always believed that diamond jewellery should not be only for a few people. It should be accessible to the whole country."

The influencer also features in the campaign’s ad film created on the back of the same message. The brand has also launched a dedicated collection called PEAK, featuring a unique 'Everest Cut' inspired by mountain peaks, symbolising the wearer's journey of trials and triumphs.

Targeting women aged 28 to 40 years, with a core focus on the 28-35 year age group, the campaign adopts a digital-first approach. "Our research tells us that a lot of time spent by our consumers is online these days, specifically on social media," Pandya notes. The media mix for the campaign includes Meta, Google, and in-store activations.

CaratLane is complementing the mainline campaign with ancillary marketing activities. Pandya shares, "We've done some interesting collabs on this as well, like we started off by collaborating with SheThePeople, which is a platform for women to build the narrative around things that matter to women."

To add to this, the brand also collaborated with Unerase, which is a spoken poetry platform where women delivered the core message of the campaign in their own poems. Content marketing plays a crucial role in CaratLane's strategy.

"It's very important for us, especially the content which entails a lot of styling," Pandya says. The brand is also focusing on user-generated content, which has shown maximum engagement across their platforms, as per Pandya.

Beyond influencer collaborations, CaratLane has recently ventured into Bollywood partnerships, as seen with their Crew movie collaboration. Pandya explains, "We wanted to try a hand at Bollywood, because there was a scene which is very specific, where Kareena Kapoor gets gifted CaratLane jewellery."

While movie collaborations are on CaratLane's radar, the brand is selective about the kind of films it associates with. "We are looking at these collaborations seriously. But we are also very picky about the kind of collabs we end up doing. We've not been able to scale it as of now, because we want to make sure that it is a right fit for the brand."

Discussing consumer demographics, Pandya reveals that while women drive the majority of revenue, there is a sizable amount of men purchasing for their spouses. Geographically, while metro cities contribute significantly, Pandya notes, "There is a very interesting growth in the tier-2 and tier-3 cities, because the consumers there are seeking this kind of modern, everyday jewellery."

Consumer trends in the category are evolving, with a growing demand for distinctive pieces. "People are seeking something that they can wear every day. But even within that, they want something which stands out," Pandya observes. She mentions the popularity of gemstones, enamel-based jewellery, and pieces with nostalgic connections, such as their Disney collection

On the retail front, CaratLane continues to expand its physical presence. "We are now 275 plus stores, and in around 110 cities in the country," Pandya states. The brand has aggressive plans to penetrate further into tier-2, tier-3, and beyond cities, although specific numbers remain undisclosed.