The Platinum Guild International group is beefing up its 'Thanks Day' advertising campaign to boost the sales of platinum-based jewellery in Japan.

The project, which was launched in March 2007, is aimed at older Japanese consumers, who have high disposable incomes on retirement following years of hard work.

It was initially launched with a television advertisement featuring Japanese musician and actor Akira Terao, while also incorporating in-store marketing and increased awareness through appearances in print media.

However, with sales of platinum jewellery falling by 22 per cent last year, the guild has now tripled the number of televised advertisements it broadcasts and is in talks with its members about plans to increase that number further in 2009.

As Hisako Hankinson, a representative of the guild's Japanese office, explains: "In Japan, retiring men are looked to as trendsetters with lots of pension money. We focused on men's retirement day to create a new gift-giving occasion."

The guild initially set itself a target of adding 88 billion yen to platinum jewellery sales by next year, but it has yet to revise that figure in the face of seemingly slumping demand.



Source:

Ad targets Japan's retiring husbands to revive sales of platinum jewellery (07/09/08)
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4596131&fSectionId=552&fSetId=662

Platinum Guild Japan targets older consumers (28/03/07)
http://www.platinum.matthey.com/media_room/1175090406.html