One of the most significant brand initiatives in recent history, Made to Shine is a complement to the more than 50-year iconic brand positioning of Shane Co. as “your friend in the jewelry business.” Based on the fine jewelry industry and customer research, Shane Co. created a campaign that puts customers and jewelry lovers in the spotlight. As a tribute to the most meaningful parts of everyday life – gaining confidence when you put on a sparkly pair of earrings, feeling the presence of a loved one by wearing an heirloom ring, showing love to someone special with a meaningful gift or engagement ring – Made to Shine’s objective is to celebrate real people, real lives, and real stories.
The goals of Shane Co.’s Made to Shine campaign are to expand the brand’s reputation beyond engagement and wedding products, showcase the sentimental and emotional aspects of fine jewelry from different viewpoints through real customer stories, highlight the diversity of lives impacted by the gift or self-purchase of fine jewelry, and create a breakthrough for the brand.
Rooted in customer research, Shane Co. identified an opportunity in the fine jewelry industry to put the customer in front of the lens for advertising. Customers shared that they wanted to authentically see themselves in the brands they shop from, including their jeweler. Shane Co. set out to create exactly that with their new brand campaign, Made to Shine.
One of the campaign's key features is showcasing real people and their personal stories. In order to foster more authentic connection opportunities with the brand, Shane Co. knew it was important to showcase a diversity of stories and people in the campaign, not just models wearing jewelry. Today, most advertising in the jewelry and broader fashion industry is diverse. However, though diverse, they are often posed, uber curated scenes and models that show an ideal life without much connection to the brand. To capture true authenticity in the campaign, Shane Co. went a step further and cast real couples and real families. While this was definitely a challenge, the results proved to be well worth it.
Known for its iconic radio advertising spanning over 5 decades, Shane Co. launched its Made to Shine campaign with a revamp of its marketing strategy that not only includes radio, but also television advertising, digital advertising, content creation, influencer marketing, and social media. These advertising mediums and engagement efforts were newer to the brand, yet they were rooted in customer research and a drive to connect deeper with current customers and attract a new audience to Shane Co. nationwide.
Customers also shared that what they loved that was unique to Shane Co., which included the brand’s heritage and legacy in sourcing and selecting conflict-free diamonds and gemstones in every color, the ability to personalize a meaningful piece of jewelry with on-site jewelers in every store, the welcoming and inclusive atmosphere of Shane Co. with industry-best, personal service, and jewelry designed in-house that they can only get at Shane Co. These key differentiating brand points are brought to life visually through creative elements and storytelling through the Made to Shine campaign.
Made to Shine wasn’t created to be a one-and-done breakthrough marketing campaign — the stories featured in the initial advertising only represent a snapshot of the world’s stories and experiences. Shane Co. developed a platform to capture more authentic stories from real-life customers to feature in their advertising and on their social media. This is a key component to continually progress the campaign and ensure that its content is fresh and authentic, which is a challenge to many similar brand campaigns.
Shane Co.'s Made to Shine campaign kicked off nationwide in June 2023 with an integrated media strategy that included television commercials, outdoor advertising, online videos, social media support, and radio advertising.
The campaign was announced in a press release that received over 4,900 views. The release was picked up by 419 media outlets, generating an estimated audience of 231.1 million. Following the announcement, traditional media covered the campaign, including key trade publications like JCK Magazine, Instore Magazine, and National Jeweler. A few months after its introduction, Made to Shine was even featured in a JCK article about the importance of representation in retail advertising. Made to Shine media coverage has a total potential audience of 232 million to date.
For the first time, Shane Co. partnered with a handful of national influencers to drive the Made to Shine narrative. Shane Co. had never previously engaged with influencers to support a brand marketing initiative or campaign on this scale. The brand partnered with a total of 58 influencers that generated over 260M impressions and over 732K engagements. To date, there are over 200 Instagram posts and stories (organically and via influencer partnerships) using the campaign’s hashtag, #MadeToShine. In the same six-month period, Shane Co. saw a surge in followers. The brand’s followership on Instagram grew by 6% — this alone fulfills the goal of inspiring brand affinity and community growth.
