“Adding” Interest Back to a Gift-Giving Tradition
Byard F. Brogan is a longtime jewelry manufacturer who wanted to re-energize his Princesse Legacy Pearl Collection, his version of an add-a-pearl program. These programs are usually targeted toward parents and grandparents of young girls, and begin by the gifting of a gold chain and single pearl. A new pearl is “added” every year so that by age 18, the necklace is complete.
Enthusiasm for the program and collection was in decline. We were tasked with adding life and interest back to this gift-giving tradition.
The Magic of Storytelling
We realized that the target had changed; instead of focusing on the parents or grandparents, we needed to explore ideas on how this brand and concept could appeal to the young girls actually wearing the pearls. We developed a direct-to-consumer marketing campaign, as well as a marketing program that retailers could use in-store.
We created a character named Princesse Pearl and wrote and illustrated a series of twelve episodic children’s books about the adventures she and her teddy bear Barlow have on the way to her parents’ castle. We created animated characters and engaging situations that always included a moral. At the end of each book, a magic pearl would appear on her neck for the good deed she had performed. Her pearl necklace grew until she had a complete necklace by the end of the series.
To kick off the campaign, we created “The Adventures of Princesse Pearl” website, where we gradually made the books available for free, to be read on any platform or downloaded as PDFs. After reading the first book, we requested the reader like the brand on social media to receive the rest. We ran the online promotion for six months, releasing a new book every two weeks. We also wrote a blog titled “Pearls of Wisdom,” and at one point during the campaign, we even became official Mommy Bloggers.
To help the retailers who carried the product line, we published hard copies of the books and distributed them to those retailers, along with in-case cutout characters to place around the merchandise. Retailers gave out the books as “freebies” whenever a pearl from the collection was purchased.
Adding More Pearls–and More Accounts
Byard F. Brogan saw a dramatic increase in sales among his existing client base and opened several new retail accounts with the offer of this marketing program.
