One of Rordan Shane’s favourite parts of his job as president and CEO of Shane Co. is hearing stories from sales associates about customers and the meaning jewellery brings to their lives, whether it’s a teenager’s first pair of gold earrings, a new mother’s charm bracelet or a loving husband’s wedding band.
Shane says the family-owned fine jeweller’s new brand campaign, Made to Shine, focuses on customers’ feelings and memories about jewellery. The campaign includes radio and television advertising, online videos, social media posts and a consumer contest.
Made to Shine, which debuted in June, is designed to make you feel real emotions when you watch the commercial or hear the stories of real Shane Co. customers, says Shane. Jewellery, at its core, is about finding meaning in the things you wear and love, he notes.
“This is a continuation and an extension of what we’ve been doing for more than 50 years. Our brand positioning is that we are your friend in the jewellery business,” says Shane. “It’s part of our long-standing mission to be customer-focused….We want to celebrate the authenticity of our products and the meaning they bring to the wearer and the giver.”
Made to Shine’s ad hits this mark by showing several different people and their jewellery – including a teenager dressed for a dance wearing layered gold chains, and a nurse in scrubs touching what looks like her engagement ring on a chain. The camera lingers on their faces, smiling as they put on or check their jewellery. If commercials make you cry, there’s a chance that one or more of these images will get to you, because they’re emotional and, yes, meaningful.
While the commercial features actors, the Made to Shine campaign’s nationwide Real Stories contest, which launched on July 12, invites customers to share their personal stories of how jewellery has impacted them for a chance to be featured in a Shane Co. radio spot. Twelve people who enter their real-life stories into the contest will be randomly selected to receive $1,000 to use “to shine in any way they choose,” Shane says.
“My family and Shane Co. want people to shine because that makes us shine,” says Shane. “The whole campaign is inspired by authenticity and realness, so there’s no better way to get something real and authentic than to showcase real people. We want to touch people’s hearts and connect with their stories.
Shane says it’s stories like these that make him proud of his family business, mentioning one he recently heard from a Shane Co. employee about a man who had come into the store for help in re-purposing his wedding jewellery. The man’s wife had recently died after 64 years of marriage, and he wanted to use her diamonds in a new ring he could wear to honour their relationship.
“He hadn’t taken his wedding ring off since the day he got married,” says Shane. “Stories like that are so meaningful….That’s what rings true to us and what we see in our stores every day. That’s what jewellery is all about – showing emotion and having real feelings.
