Jewellery ad spends to see 15% rise this wedding season

Jewellery brands are ramping up their ad spends as the ‘big fat Indian wedding’ brings more pent-up demand.

To capitalise on the ongoing wedding season in India, jewellery brands have come up with various campaigns. The narrative of all the ads is quite different, though. 

In an attempt to woo consumers and boost sales during the festive season that leads to the wedding season, jewellery brands are stepping up their ad spends across media channels. Even the brands that don’t sell wedding jewellery, like Mia by Tanishq, CaratLane, Mellora, Blue Stone and Giva Jewellery etc., are heavily advertising these days.

Ashish Bhasin, co-founder and chairman, RD&X Network, says that beginning with Durga Puja and Ganesh Chaturthi, jewellery sales continue through Diwali and the wedding season that lasts till the early part of the new year. “This year came after two pandemic-stuck years. So, jewellery-related advertising saw a 10-15% increase over last year.”

Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Kalyan Jewellers’ executive director, tells afaqs! that with the return to normalcy and the re-emergence of the ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding’, the jewellery demand was partially absorbed in October.

The brand is confident that the overall momentum will continue to show an uptick in the coming months. “Kalyan Jewellers registered a revenue growth of approximately 25% for the festive period of 31 days approaching Diwali, when compared to the same period last year,” reveals Kalyanaraman.

Ankita Srivastava, chief marketing officer, KISNA Diamond and Gold Jewellery, mentions that the category spends have picked up, with almost 25% spends (of YTD) happening in October alone.

“Category spends surpassed Rs 400 crore in just one month, a 40% increase over last year. We expect the spends to continue right till mid-December. Media spends are, indeed, helping boost the already buoyant consumer sentiment,” she adds.

As per a CAIT (Confederation of All India Traders) report, around 32 lakh weddings were expected to take place between November 4 and December 14, which will generate business to the tune of close to Rs 4 lakh crore. The pent-up desire of Indian families to host a ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding’ after two COVID-struck years, is good news for not just the economy at large, but also the jewellery businesses that are seizing the opportunity.

Senco Gold & Diamonds witnessed a phenomenal demand during this festive season, as compared to last year. “The momentum, as far as the wedding season goes, has been steady. The brides are opting for traditional pieces that resonate with their roots and are also in sync with their individual sense of style,” informs Joita Sen, director of the jewellery brand.  

The fast evolving jewellery media mix

Traditionally, TV and print formed a large part of jewellery brands’ media spends. However, now, digital has become an integral part of consumers’ daily lives. Recently, jewellery brands were seen advertising on gaming platforms. Does this also imply a change in their TG?

According to Bhasin of RD&X Network, there has definitely been a change in the TG. “Now, the younger generation has entered the market. Earlier, the grandmothers were the only ones who would buy jewellery. But today, with the entry of working women and changing fashion trends, more youngsters are buying jewellery.”

Elaborating on the media spends, he states, “The media habits of consumers are also changing and, clearly, digital surpasses traditional media for the youth. Not just the younger generation, but housewives these days are also involved in gaming. With 5G’s launch, jewellery, as a category, will lend itself to augmented reality and virtual experiences in future.”

On an average, the marketing and advertising expenditure of Kalyan Jewellers is around 2% of its total annual revenues. Considering the shift in digital trends and social media marketing, Kalyanaraman says that a certain amount of this budget is allocated to the digital medium. 

Keeping up with the digital momentum, the brand has also launched multiple region-specific digital campaigns. Short format campaigns are a major part of its ad budget and customer outreach strategy. 

Sen of Senco Gold & Diamonds reveals that the brand typically allocates 55% of its annual budget towards traditional mediums, and 35% towards digital and OTT platforms. “This includes non-festive seasons, where the brand executes sustenance campaigns to create top of mind recall. About 10% is budgeted towards localised advertising and marketing channels,” she informs.

Tapping the online medium 

Consumers are getting more accustomed to buying things online. But for a high-consideration category, like jewellery, brand trust and credibility play a pivotal role to increase online sales. Bhasin says that consumers can easily trust the e-commerce channels of brands that enjoy a certain reputation in the market. 

“A well-crafted website can give consumers the experience of being in the showroom, without leaving their homes. Today, young working women prefer to buy light jewellery, which is more in quantity. It means that the price per unit may be lower, but they own more pieces. With lower value and more standardisation of jewellery, it easily lends itself to the e-commerce model,” mentions Bhasin.

Candere, Kalyan Jewellers e-commerce division, has seen a consistent uptick in business, and recorded a revenue of Rs 37 crore in the last quarter, as per the brand.

KISNA primarily operates through its 3,500 retail stores spread across 400 mostly Tier-II/III cities. Srivastava says, “While online sales are growing leaps and bounds, it is still more of a discovery platform than a conversion channel, particularly for the expensive wedding jewellery.”

For an experiential category, like jewellery, the sales will largely come from retail channels. But the category’s collective efforts to ramp up e-commerce model, will continue to drive a change in the overall distribution mix.

(With additional inputs from Benita Chacko)