DeBeers Looking For Love On Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is on Sunday and DeBeers wants to remind consumers of the importance of love. Actually, it wants consumers to remember the importance of love, and then drop everything.

The jewelry company has collaborated with JWT on a social-networking website that enables consumers to broadcast lovelorn webcam messages to significant others.

Sally Morrison of JWT explained, “This is a greater embrace of social media for DeBeers and a huge step for us in engaging people about what love means in this particular digital environment."

The site also features a collection of short films produced by JWT, which follow nine lovers on quests to surprise their special someone – a savvy attempt to connect with emotional shoppers searching for the perfect gift.

One couple, for example, involves a San Diego-based techie flying to South Africa with a ring (Surprise! It's from DeBeers!) for his girlfriend in Cape Town.

The website does not display the company's logo, though the background design aptly features diamond shapes. The marketing campaign complements other DeBeers promotional efforts via online platforms such as Facebook, the LA Times, the NY Times, and marketing e-mails. So far, the strategy appears to be working: more than 300 messages have already been submitted through the site and DeBeers' Facebook page. And just in time, as the brand has been struggling recently – not surprising considering the luxury/diamond category is particularly vulnerable to a recession.

Yet the brand hasn’t determined just how long it will run its Drop Everything campaign. Perhaps it is still waiting to see if it’s in a long-term relationship with customers.