Eli Avidar, Managing Director of the Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies (IDI) called upon the global jewelry and diamond industries to “think out of the box” about marketing their products during the current economic crisis, in a speech during the opening session of the CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation Annual Congress here today. He said that the conference was of major importance as an opportunity for these global industries to formulate policies together “that will help (them) … not only to survive the current crisis, but to thrive in its aftermath.”



Avidar said that the key to success in this economic climate is “to adopt assertive and sometimes unconventional strategies in marketing, management and development.” That is, in his words: “DO THE UNEXPECTED.” He added that “there can be no better time than the present – to introduce aggressive and strategic advertising and marketing programs in all forms of media, especially as other enterprises are pulling out – making our negotiating powers in this area even stronger.”



Eli Avidar cited the IDI “Together Works” campaign as an example of the type of strategic marketing initiatives he is calling for. Avidar explained that the campaign is entitled “Together Works” because “its success is dependent upon international cooperation and joint efforts in all centers.” The campaign is being rolled out in stages throughout 2009 and is making use of every type of media available.



Avidar said that now is the time to target new consumer markets in developing countries. He cautioned however that the industry must understand the culture of these countries, and to adapt marketing techniques and messages accordingly. He said that in the case of China it was necessary to understand the cultural preference for jade over diamonds, and to gear marketing messages accordingly.



Avidar commended the joint educational program established by CIBJO and the United Nations, which aims to improve worldwide jewelry industry standards. He said that the current financial crisis was bringing about intensified cooperation amongst diamond and jewelry entities, including the generic diamond promotion campaign which he cited as a very important step.



About the message, Avidar said it was essential to “capitalize on the fact that the diamond or a piece of unique jewelry will always have more intrinsic value than a designer pocket book…A jewel is something unique that can be handed down from one generation to the next…at the same time maintaining and …increasing its value.”



Eli Avidar also called upon the global industries to utilize original marketing methods such as social networks – Facebook, Twitter and others. He recommended to the audience to “take the time to blog or even just read blogs to get a better understanding of our industry from entirely new perspectives, from which you can … create new programs and outreach to clients that you had never anticipated.”



In summary, Avidar said “We have to act differently, we have to do it together…remember the two words of our campaign -- Together Works – because they contain a message within for us all.”