The Challenge
Boost Continental's visibility and market share by launching Legacy Diamonds — an exclusive line of high-performance ideal cut diamonds. Ideal cut diamonds are cut to specific proportions that excel in creating brilliance (the reflection of white light to the viewer), fire (dispersion), and sparkle (scintillation). However, even within these proportions, there is an acceptable "range" of adherence. The Legacy diamond differentiates itself from other ideal cut diamonds through a more precise alignment of its facets, yielded by being cut to a defined and more focused portion of the total available target proportions. The result is a brighter and more radiant ideal cut diamond.
A Glimpse Inside the Creative Process
The website copy and graphics needed to carry a heavy load, notwithstanding bringing in the "brand" messaging. When it comes to shopping for a diamond, women are the primary decision makers — whether they're buying for themselves, collaborating with a partner, or influencing the choice. Also, research suggests that women respond more strongly to romantic, emotionally rich messaging. Yet, women are also discerning shoppers. Lastly, at the start of the buying journey, carat weight dominates value calculations — something that needed to be countered at a general level, setting the stage for Legacy. In effect, the copy and graphics would need to do the following:​
​
-
Capture attention with romantic elements
-
Bring in the Legacy name and tie it in with another romantic notion of the diamond being an heirloom that could be passed down, perhaps to a daughter or grandaughter
-
Counter the prevailing focus on carat weight in favor of cut
-
Differentiate a Legacy diamond from other ideal cut diamonds
-
Review the 4C shopping criteria (carat weight, cut, clarity, color)
-
Make Continental's brand messaging as part of the "reason why" near the call to action
-
Provide a call to action
Romance
One spring afternoon, as I looked out my studio window, I noticed the ice melting from the branches of a tree. With the sun shining behind it, each droplet shimmered —suspended for a moment like a tiny diamond. That quiet moment sparked the emotional imagery and mood I had been seeking.
The Approach
Develop a new microsite to support the launch of the Legacy Diamond line. This microsite will serve as a digital platform to educate and engage potential customers about the unique features and benefits of Legacy Diamonds. It will incorporate romance and the concept of special diamonds being passed down as enduring, living legacies. The microsite will also explain in the simplest professional terms how and why (cut) Legacy diamonds are more brilliant than the average ideal cut diamond. The call to action is to visit the store to use a special tool to see the difference, as demonstrated by an unblemished pattern of hearts and arrows within the diamond's internal reflection pattern.
A Glimpse Inside the Creative Process
The Journey
​Marriage is a journey. So is shopping for just the right diamond, although typically a much shorter one. In another creative epiphany, the recollection of Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken, came to mind. A key line in the poem is:
​
​"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."
This would serve as the perfect analogy to buying a diamond on "cut" and not on typical carat weight. The poem also segued into the more technical reasons for Legacy's cut and its resulting superiority in terms of its hearts and arrows reflection pattern.
Passage From Original Manuscript Copy Follows
Your Journey to the Perfect Diamond
Finding just the right diamond for any occasion is a journey — one that becomes a story. And everyone likes a story. You have a chance to weave one of your own around your diamond quest and your choice of a Legacy diamond.You likely learned about carat weight, color, clarity, and cut at the start of your journey — the proverbial 4Cs. Many first-time diamond buyers start with carat size in mind. As their journey unfolds, however, they may make color, clarity, and cut tradeoffs to adhere to a budget figure. It's a perfectly sound approach — tried and true. But, like the American poet Robert Frost, Continental Diamond encourages you to "take the road less traveled by" and focus primarily on cut. Prioritizing cut can make all the difference.
"The two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference."
​
Robert Frost -- The Road Not Taken
The Result
The website led to increased store traffic and sales of Legacy Diamonds. Continental supported the launch further at the retail level with salesperson training and promotional signage.
A Glimpse Inside the Creative Process
The Technology and 4Cs
Hours were spent speaking with experts (including the client and its consultants) and researching ideal cut diamonds. The goal was to ascertain how to "differentiate" Legacy from other ideal cut diamonds without the customer getting mired in heavy technological detail. Fortunately, it was possible to pare the proof points down to two concepts: physical and optical symmetry. Though somewhat complex, shoppers like "proof" and understanding "what makes Legacy better" was a compulsory proof point that required explanation.
Why Continental?
​​There are other purveyors of high-performance diamonds, similar to Legacy. Another challenge was how to distinguish Continental from them? Easy. Other sellers do not stock their high-performance ideal cut diamonds. Instead, they know where they are and how to get them. Continental inventories its Legacy diamonds. Moreover, they bring the same philosophy and brand attribute of making personal connections with customers (like a friend), whether it be online or in-store. Continental's is a personal touch, and it's part of their brand value proposition.​
​
Not every assignment offers such rich creative opportunity and latitude, and I continue to be grateful to Continental for its trust in Content Squared. While a small company, Continental's substantial investment in the launch of Legacy Diamonds and the care which it contributed to the development of it's microsite made the line a successful business. The website was quite a journey of its own!
Passage From Original Manuscript Copy Follows
Make the Light Dance – with Legacy
The light play of a diamond is a matter of consistency. And consistency is the undisputed hallmark of Continental’s Legacy Diamond Collection. Each diamond is cut to a tight tolerance within the ideal proportion and its facets exemplify physical and optical symmetry — every time. And that’s what makes the light dance!