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A little over a decade ago, the PC and the Internet rewrote the rules of marketing. Now just as surely, new age digital technologies of the Web 2.0 era, and the increasing integration of the internet with handheld mobile devices have again altered the paradigms within which companies can interact with consumers.%% Social networking, blogs, tweets, and a variety of mobile apps are just a few of the new realities that marketing professionals have to come to terms with as they seek to reach out to a digitally empowered buyer. Itâ€™s a new world, and one that has its own framework â€“ a world where soft and subtle sales techniques reign supreme. %% While exploring the experiences of large and well known international jewellery brands who are not only deeply entrenched in the world of social networking, but have also entered the mobile apps space, Roli Gupta and Stephen Rego take a closer look at how the domestic jewellery industry is facing up to the challenges of the increasingly dominant world of virtual marketing, and provide some guidelines for those who wish to log on as well.

â€¢ Facebook took a year to reach 200 million mark of users and has now crossed the 500 million mark. If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest/populated country in the world." - â€˜Socialnomicsâ€™ by Erik Qualman%% â€¢ Facebook gets 25 million users every month in India%% â€¢ A survey by The Nielsen Company and AbsolutData reveals that 8 per cent of Indian internet users spend between an hour and three hours on personal email, while 20 per cent spend the same time on social media sites, %% â€¢ Forty million, or 67 per cent of Indians on the web, rely on online reviews to make purchases%% â€¢ Fifteen million iPads were sold in 2010...In 2011, 4.69 million iPads have already been sold in the first quarter itself %% â€¢ Twitter users send more than 65 million tweets every day, equalling around 750 tweets every second%% â€¢ In 2010 alone nearly 6 billion mobile applications were downloaded.

Meaningful statistics? Or useless research? Numbers that matter? Or figures that obscure reality? %% If this were merely a TV quiz contest, then there would be little to lose by blindly hazarding a guess. But these statistics tell the story of the changing world around us, and the future of your business could well depend on which of the above questions you answer with a tick. %% So think clearly, and choose carefully. Or read on before forming an opinion..... %% Where the internet and the personal computer (or desktop) redefined communications during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, by the end of the first decade of the new millennium, these one-time revolutionary technologies were already being rendered obsolete! The rise of the new social media, a leap into wireless technology and the near complete integration of computing with mobile hand held devices (at least as far as communications are concerned) have become the defining features of the last three years. %% The implications of this are varied and vast. One of the areas in which there has been a maximum impact is marketing â€“ the new technologies, which have revolutionised communications and the way the world interacts, have also transformed the relationship between brands, companies and their consumers, both current and potential. %% â€œMarketers do not need to market their products any more â€“ people will market it for them,â€ was the perspective offered by David Fischer, Vice-President (Advertising and Global Operations), Facebook, while speaking at AdTech, a national technology and advertising conclave held at Gurgaon recently. At the same forum, Joshua Maa, CEO, Madhouse Inc, China, told delegates, â€œNo mobile, no marketing.â€ And Takayuki Hoshuyama, CEO of D2 Communications, Inc, which has created some groundbreaking mobile advertising campaigns in Japan for giants like Sony and others, reiterated -- â€œNo wireless, no marketing.â€ %% Similar views were expressed a few days later at the Nasscom Social Media Summit also held in Gurgaon.

The gem and jewellery industry, one that traditionally takes time to accept and integrate new developments into its approach and functioning, is slowly waking up to the potential of these new technologies. Larger jewellers in India have begun to embrace Facebook, while virtually all the bigger diamond companies, both sightholders and others, have launched a mobile app of some form of the other during the last year. %% Says Sanjiv Khandelwal, CEO of Centerac, a company that has been closely involved in developing mobile apps for the diamond industry in India, and is currently extending these to the jewellery field as well, â€œMobile integration is changing things significantly -- most diamond companies in India already had their inventory on the net and are now offering it through mobile devices as well, and we are now working with some of them to integrate their jewellery stock online too.â€ %% Samir Sagar, Director, Manubhai Jewellers, one of the Indian jewellery retailers active on Facebook believes that this new medium vastly expands the scope of interaction with the end consumer. He says, â€œFacebook is one common platform used by our audiences on a regular basis to share daily life and personal updates, so thereâ€™s no better medium than that for us to have a one-on-one interaction with them. This network enables us to share much more than just our new designs or collections, through public walls, messages, applications, etc. we can engage and involve the buyer as well.â€ %% Though almost all the international diamond manufacturer-exporters and more than a few of the bigger jewellers in the country have been trying to integrate the new technologies into their marketing plans, most businesses still lag behind their international counterparts in the creative use of these new technologies. An ironic situation actually, for India is otherwise seen as an IT giant.

{{Global Giants : Quick off the block...}}$$ From perfectly executed websites to a solid, sustained presence on social networking sites and being at the forefront in launching applications for the iPhone, iPad and the Android market, internationally most of the large brands have left no stone unturned in ensuring that their customers are up-to-date with info about their brands. They are also using websites, social community networks (SCN) and mobile apps to build and popularise their image, keep customers updated about events, new collections, discounts and happenings, run interactive contests and so on. A few have even ventured into cutting edge operations like offering augmented reality applications that allow customers to virtually try out jewellery before purchase, provide â€œbuild your own jewelleryâ€ options, flip book style jewellery catalogues, 3D views of jewellery and much more. %% A look at a few brands that have been optimising their use of technology provides a window to the possibilities that exist.. %% {{|*Swarovski:*|}} The Austrian brand with a whopping 1,140,147 likes on its Facebook page (at last count) unarguably leads the pack of luxury brands in this field. Proof of the fact? It adds a couple of thousand fans everyday and even celebrated its crossing the 1 million mark with a dedicated Facebook tab with videos of staff and senior management thanking their customers for liking the page! %% That aside, there is the Create Your Own Style with Swarovski Elements iPhone/iPad application. This application is a spin off from the Create Your Own Style with Swarovski Elements website that allows consumers to use Swarovski crystals and elements of various kinds for myriad purposes like creating jewellery and other embellishments. The iPad/iPhone application gives users step-by-step instructions for various Swarovski design projects and allows them to view the entire catalogue of elements with descriptions and feedback from other users.

{{|*Cartier*|}}: The â€œKing of Jewellers, Jeweller to the Kingâ€ has taken to technology like a duck takes to water. A monthly newsletter evocatively entitled Rouge, a Facebook presence with more than 99,000 page likes, and an iPhone app that takes the haute horlogerie lover straight into the world of fine watch-making â€“ are all excellent ways of appealing to the discerning jewellery consumer. Though the brand is using new technology to reach out to customers, the entire strategy is cohesive with the brandâ€™s history and legendary craftsmanship. The iPad application allows users to explore the full watch collection in high resolution detailed 3D and shows enlarged views of the watches, speaks at length about the Cartier history of watch-making, and even pays tribute to the eponymous mystery clock. %% The brand took great advantage of the recent royal wedding by posting interesting news titbits and anecdotes about Cartierâ€™s special relationship with the British Royal Family on its Facebook page. Prior to that, the brand leveraged the Christmas gifting mania perfectly â€“ the Wintertale campaign was an advertisement on a microsite in which a panther (the Cartier mascot) was used to subtly show various Cartier products which would make ideal Christmas gifts. A full-fledged text messaging campaign that linked to Twitter and an FB campaign added a whole lot of viewers and potential affluent customers to Cartierâ€™s database.

{{|*James Allen:*|}} Amongst the pack of online retailers, James Allen leads with a solid, ever increasing website, SCN and mobile presence. A Facebook application helps users choose an engagement ring from over 70,000 rings and post images on their own profile for their friends to view and comment on. Besides, there is a Facebook raffle and the iVouch tab which shows unedited customer reviews. Their website has an innovative online ring sizer that allows users to actually determine their correct ring size from the screen. A virtual loupe application is an online simulation that allows users to see diamonds in the detail that a jeweller would see using a conventional loupe. There are high definition 3D videos of rings by themselves and how they would look when worn on the hand. The iPad and iPhone application enables browsing of high definition real images of diamonds, viewing of certification, accessing the virtual loupe application, making a purchase, contacting customer care and so on.

{{|*Boucheron:*|}} Its fan following on the Facebook page may not compare to some of the biggies, but this brand is a pioneer in many ways â€“ augmented reality being one of them. The Boucheron website offers a MyBoucheron service that combines the power of laptop web cams with 3D imaging. Users can download and print a file that has drawings of a ring and watch. The next step is to cut the drawings out, place them on the wrist or finger, as the case may be, and focus the web cam on the paper ring or watch. The application allows the user to see exactly how a previously selected watch or ring will look when it is worn. %% The Boucheron iPhone application similarly allows users to virtually try on jewellery by using images of the userâ€™s hand and superimposing selected jewellery pieces on it. On the Facebook side, Boucheron has a nifty â€œgift applicationâ€. This group gift application allows users to select a gift from the Boucheron range, invite friends to contribute to the gift and make the payments through the telephonic IVRS. Once the total price of the gift has been fully realised through the group contributions, the gift is gift wrapped and shipped to the specified address.

{{|*Lazare Kaplan:*|}} This brandâ€™s website and SCN presence doesnâ€™t differ much from most others...itâ€™s iPhone application is what makes it stand apart - the app incorporates a user-friendly tool with different tabs that interactively teach consumers about cut, colour, clarity, and carat-weight. This is a hands-on tutorial; using interactive screens, videos and side by side comparisons to demonstrate the 4Câ€™s. It also includes a geographic locator that lets users identify the closest Lazare diamond retailer. There are links to Twitter and Facebook that connect consumers to the Lazare community to stay updated on events and product launches. Not just consumers, but retailers too are likely to find this app useful â€“ they can use it as a sales tool to educate their customers. Customers can even compare their own diamonds against samples using the app. The Lazare Kaplan application is a good example of how an application can be used as a subtle form of advertising, even as it educates the customer.%%{{|*Ahee:*|}} In the world of tech savvy jewellers, most are big, luxury, high end brands or retailers. Smaller retailers, however, can can take heart from Michigan based Ahee Jewellers who have launched a full-fledged iPhone and iPad app that allows users to browse their entire catalogue, create a wish list, customise designs, view exclusive photo galleries and videos, view their exclusive jewellery magazine, browse the latest trends, hunt for gifts et al. The application is also integrated with Facebook and Twitter. Nothing really different from what most other jewellers are doing, but the fact is that Ahee is, by its own admission, a â€œsmall sizeâ€ retailer, and competing well with the bigger jewellers who have plenty of resources at hand. %% {{|*Others:*|}} Links of London, Chaumet, Tiffany and Co, Tissot, Ernest Jones, H Samuel, Pandora, Van Cleef and Arpels, Chopard, Bulgari, Anna Sheffield, Citizen, Piaget, Blue Nile â€“ just a few of the many others who have been very quick in leveraging the power of the web and mobile. %%

{{Indian jewellers: Slower to Start...}} The more traditional Indian jewellery industry has moved into the social marketing space at a slightly slower pace, but by 2011 there were more than a few companies which had fan followings running into many thousands, and a number of others who were either trying to revise their strategies and reactivate their dormant FB pages, or were in the process of preparing to launch their own profile on the network. %% To try and better understand the dynamics of this new medium, we took up four case studies â€“ Tanishq, as a representative of the large, multi-store, pan India retailer, Platinum Guild, which is engaged in generic promotions of the white metal, Manubhai Jewellers, an older, traditional jewellery business that has kept pace with the changing times including using new age technologies, and Samana Jewels, a designer brand that is trying to leverage the social networks to interact with existing and potential customers. %% {{|*Tanishq:*|}} One of the early movers into this space, and also one of the most active, the all-India retailer has one of the largest FB followings among Indian jewellery brands with over 80,000 fans. â€œTodayâ€™s consumers are spending a lot of time online, engaging in conversations, sharing their thoughts, through Facebook, Twitter and the likes. Facebook and Twitter provide a good medium for a brand to engage with this consumer,â€ says Bhuwan Gaurav, Marketing Head, Tanishq, adding â€œThe website is more of a monologue where we can showcase designs and collection, whereas FB is like a dialogue or a discussion.â€ %% Guarav however stresses that online digital campaigns have to be a part of a larger strategy of engaging consumers. â€œOnly then can a plan of activities and engagements be drawn up. More importantly the brand has to actively respond to any queries and questions that may be posed within a reasonable period of time.â€ %% Call it far sightedness, and a willingness to innovate, something that Tanishq has amply demonstrated in its off line marketing activities, or just a function of sheer size, but the brand is one of the few that has a team dedicated to the social media strategy who update and respond to the FB posts on a regular basis, even twice or thrice in a day. â€œManaging a FB page involves a commitment of time and resources,â€ says Gaurav, and the brand has put its money where its mouth is. %% While the brand has done a host of activities on FB, all aligned to its strategy and current marketing campaigns, two that stand out are the In the Dream Wedding contest and the Queen of Diamond contest during the festive season. %% Going forward, Tanishq hopes to develop its network by creating â€œvery engaging points of conversationsâ€ with its fans.

{{|*Platinum Guild India:*|}} Focused on the generic promotions of platinum, spreading awareness and creating a demand for the rare white metal, Platinum Guild India has recently developed its presence on Facebook. PGI was already running the Platinum Day of Love campaign, aimed at young couples discovering the day they found true love and urging them to celebrate it with precious platinum, offline through TV advertising, print and billboard from end 2009. %% â€œThe communication with consumers needed to be deepened to embed the concept of Platinum Day of Love and the ritual of honouring that special day with platinum jewellery,â€ says Vaishali Banerjee, Country Manager - India, Platinum Guild International. %% Research of the online space was conducted, particularly the social media sites, to understand the one most frequented by the PGI target audience, and after integrating the learnings from the international PGI FB page, as well as from the consumer brand track that is conducted every year the decision to set up a Platinum Day of Love FB page was taken. %% â€œGiven the increasing importance of the online space and in particular social networks such as Facebook which has participation from a large number of active young couples in India we decided it is a perfect platform to interact with couples and their friends to drive awareness of the Platinum Day of Love,â€ says Banerjee. She adds that the FB campaigns are closely linked to the overall marketing, and FB consumers are often directed to the Precious Platinum website for additional information. %% After the huge success of the first innings of the Platinum Day of Love contest (see box), PGI is planning to launch Phase 2, after fine tuning the strategies based on the experiences of the first campaign. â€œThe focus will continue to be on driving the understanding of the concept of Platinum Day of Love and highlighting the key attributes of platinum,â€ concludes Banerjee.

{{|*Manubhai Jewellers:*|}} With a fan following of 16,000 plus, Manubhai Jewellers has clearly emerged as one of the most active and most successful independent jewellers in the social media space. Its elegant designs and exquisite craftsmanship which have won it a lot of acclaim among consumers, are obviously one of the factors driving its FB success, but a clear focus and meticulous preparations have also played a role. %% Says Samir Sagar, Director, â€œWe did a lot of preparatory research before taking the plunge. We studied the potential of the platform, the language that was used, the amount of knowledge required, and did a study to understand whether, and if so to what extent, or key audiences were participating in the platform.â€ %% A dedicated marketing team handles the page and monitors FB daily to make sure that there is a constant connect with the audiences. Responses are quick and regular updates about different collections, recent launches, exhibitions, etc that happen are posted online. %% The range is quite remarkable. Earlier this year Manubhai FB hosted information of Guru Pushya Nakshatra, a less known traditional jewellery buying occasion and around the same time also undertook a contest on FB for Valentineâ€™s Day called Season of Love Contest. %% The contest required contestants to upload a couple picture along with their love story on the Wall of the Manubhai Jewellers page. Contestants with maximum â€˜Likesâ€™ and a unique story won the contest. â€œWe also regularly provide access to our fans enabling them to tag their family and friends on different occasions,â€ says Sagar. %% With the brandâ€™s website currently under development, those who land on the Home Page are redirected to FB with a single click. â€œFB thus allows us to have a strong online presence despite our website under construction, which is a huge advantage,â€ he adds. %% Looking forward, the Manubhai team aims to bring the entire jewellery experience on to the online platform whether it is the website, e-commerce or social networking. â€œA growing number of consumers are opting for the online medium as a preferred choice to shop, so it is crucial that we are ready to cater to them.â€

{{|*Samana Jewels: *|}}â€œRealising that so many of our clients were already on Facebook, it almost became a compulsion for us to join them too,â€ says Navin Jashnani of Samana Jewels, one of the newer entrants to the world of social networking. â€œIt is an interactive platform and one that makes connecting with customers really simple,â€ he adds, â€œ and there an incredible number â€“25 million â€“ of users in India, many of whom could be potential clients.â€ %% For Samana, the FB site has been a medium of showcasing collections, announcing upcoming launches and exhibitions and giving customers a deeper insight into what the company is about. â€œBeing there is easy, but being there regularly is what is important.â€ %% The activity is part of its ongoing marketing and promotions and so is handled by the existing marketing team, which tries to respond to suggestions and queries as soon as possible, taking help from the design team when required. %% Jashnani has an interesting take on the relationship between FB and the company website. â€œBoth have their own role to play,â€ he says, pointing to the fact that the scope for creative presentation is much more in oneâ€™s own site where there are no binding formats and frameworks. â€œItâ€™s entirely your own space,â€ he opines, â€œand under your control.â€ %% While there are limitations of format on FB, that restrict design elements, and one has to be a member of FB to participate more effectively, the FB page allows persons to become a fan immediately and share something that they liked with many others. â€œYour network can expand at an incredible rate,â€ he says.

{{|*Many more: *|}}These are just some of the many jewellers who have made the leap from the traditional ways of presenting themselves, and there are many others who have tried out the new technologies with varying degrees of success. Some of these include retailers like Minawala, Mahesh Notandass, Tikamdas Motiram Jewellers, PC Jewellers, Waman Hari Pethe, Jewels Emporium, Talwarsons, Megha Jewellers, large brands like Orra, Asmi, Nakshatra, designer brands like Mirari, Farah Ali Khan, Rasvihar and even online retailers like Caratlane, to name a few. %% {{Mobile Apps: Early Days}}%% However, when it comes to mobile apps, the Indian industry seems to have a lot of catching up to do. The early movers into this field have been the large diamond companies â€“ Rosy Blue, Dimexon, Shree Ramkrishna, Dharmanandan Diamonds, Star Rays â€“ all of whom have essentially integrated their web-based diamond inventory into mobile based applications. %% â€œThe advantages for a retailer are enormous,â€ says Centeracâ€™s Khandelwal, pointing to the limitations imposed by infrastructure and internet speeds in many parts of the country. â€œThere are 46 mn laptop users in India, compared to which there are 750 mn mobile users and of these 110 are GPRS enabled,â€ he says. And once a retailer is made aware of the service, he only has to visit the site / app store for his device and download the app. Then a one-time registration process gives complete and immediate access to a fabulous inventory â€“ anywhere, anytime. %% â€œJust think of it,â€ he says, â€œThe retailer can access the stock from anywhere â€“ on a flight, in the elevator; and he can do it many times faster than it would take to access the same data from a PC.â€

According to Yogendra Vora, Director, Tecogis, another technology company that has a number of clients in the gems and jewellery field, â€œWith the advent of 3G, the use of internet has zoomed, and in the next 1-1Â½ years, customised mobile apps will be really big things. If these are designed to operate across all the three big platforms â€“ Blackberry, iPhone and Android â€“ there is enormous scope for businesses to expand their networks in both the B2B and B2C spaces.â€ %% Smart apps are already changing many business systems, and the gem and jewellery industry, though slow to start, can benefit enormously. Vora says that in this field size is not a limiting factor, â€œSoftware developers are creating relatively simple apps that can benefit the single store jeweller, as well as multi-tier apps for the really large guys. By linking up with RFID technology, for example, stock availability across locations can be tracked in real time on a mobile.â€ %% According to them, the iPad has opened up immense possibilities for the Indian industry. â€œWith the latest generation phones high res and clear definition images can be displayed easily, so one can view a jewellery catalogue with great clarity,â€ explains Khandelwal, â€œand on an iPad, ornaments can even be viewed at the exact size as well.â€ %% Agrees Vora, â€œThe latest developments in technology have made communications instant and more effective, and for many young urbanites, the new web-enabled phones are the means by which they interact with the world â€“ be it through Facebook, Twitter or Linked in.â€ %% Both also believe that the industry needs to use these tools more effectively. While Khandelwal says that many companies with a presence on Facebook are only there because of the hype, and need to develop and fine tune their strategies to integrate with their overall business plans, Vora is of the opinion that the potential of Twitter and Linked in has been really neglected by the industry. â€œThe common thinking is that Twitter is for celebs, and Linked in for professionals, but both have huge potential for spreading ideas and messages â€“ say to mobilise opinion for or against a government policy, and for sharing experiences.â€ %% {{Beyond the Horizon}}%% There is unanimous opinion that what we are already seeing is in many ways the tip of the iceberg.

Global business consultancy McKInsey & Co, in a recent report entitled â€œCan India lead the Mobile-Internet Revolution?â€ opined that â€œIndia has an opportunity â€¦.(of) becoming the first truly mobile digital society. All the elements are in place: the cost of network access and handsets is going down, wireless networks are going up, and Indian consumers already display an insatiable appetite for digital services.â€ %% Thus, though it has the fourth largest number of net connections in the world, at present India has relatively few Internet users: at 81 million users, just 7 per cent of its population and only 20 per cent of its urban population is connected to the Web, compared with 32 per cent in China (60 per cent of urban population) and 77 per cent in the United States. %% Moreover while China has 233 million mobile-Internet users, or 18 percent of its total population, India has just 17 million, or less than 1 percent. %% Citing poor infrastructure, vast geographical spread, higher costs etc as some of the hurdles, the consultancy opines that the new mobile based internet can rapidly change all that. In a telling projection, McKinsey says, â€œIf Indiaâ€™s latent demand is unleashed, McKinsey research forecasts that the total number of Internet users will increase more than fivefold, to 450 million, by 2015. Total digital-content consumption will double, to as much as $9.5 billion. Including access charges, revenues from total digital consumption could rise fourfold, to $20 billionâ€”twice the expected growth rate of China.â€ %% Perhaps itâ€™s time for the reader to now go back to the beginning and relook at those questions we started out with!