DPA annual budget rises to $70M

Joshua Freedman

Funds available for the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) to spend on generic marketing will jump to $70 million this year following an increase in contributions from its members.

The extra cash will enable the organization to grow its US marketing and expand campaigns around the world, Jean-Marc Lieberherr, its CEO, said in an exclusive interview with Rapaport News, during the forthcoming edition of In the Loupe — The Rapaport Diamond Podcast.

Last year, we invested about $50 million in our first real year of investment, which was significant,” Lieberherr said. “In 2018, we’re looking at investing about $70 million, which means we’ll be able to slightly increase the level of effort in the US.

The larger budget will also support the DPA’s first full year of investment in India, where it launched a campaign in November, and kick-start its efforts in China, which are due to begin in April, the executive added. (See above for the recent Indian advertising commercial, “Moving Day.”)

The DPA gets its funding from seven miners who established it in 2015, chiefly De Beers and Alrosa. Its annual spending power has grown from just $6 million in 2016, when it launched its marketing efforts.

The group invested 90% of its 2017 budget in the US last year, resulting in about one billion “paid impressions,” referring to the number of times a sponsored item appeared on someone’s web browser. It spent $15 million in the fourth quarter, including on short video advertisements ahead of the holidays.

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Source Rapaport