WGC aims to change the perception of Gen Z about gold jewellery: Arti Saxena

What are the key insights gained through your 10 years at the World Gold Council? What are the trends in the Indian gold industry and what are the challenges before it?

Being the world’s largest holders of gold, accumulating more than 25,000 tonnes, Indians are known for their love and allegiance towards the precious metal. However, our recent survey has revealed that there has been an emotional disconnect with gold among the millennials and Gen Z in India. The reason being that millennials have evolved significantly, and their preferences have shifted. They embrace moments of self-expression, find joy in their individuality and are a lot more spontaneous, setting them apart from the rest. With half of the country’s population being below the age of 25 years, this segment is redefining India’s consumption story.

Combatting this challenge, our ‘You are Gold’ campaign aims to strengthen the relevance of gold jewellery in a more meaningful way to millennials. Through our latest film, we celebrate today’s young women who are chasing their passions fearlessly. With a modern and contemporary showcase of gold jewellery in the film, we aim to transform the perception of gold jewellery from traditional to something that is modern, stylish, contemporary and a means of self-expression, in line with the mindset of today’s young consumers.

Tell us about your latest TVC ‘You are Gold’, and weaving real women stories and influencer engagement around it – what are the objectives you have there?

‘You are Gold’ is an integrated campaign that aims to inspire today’s young women to express themselves. The ad film we’ve recently launched showcases young women from diverse backgrounds, who are unafraid of letting their inner light shine and are precious, brilliant and bold – much like the beautiful gold jewellery they wear. The campaign seeks to attract millennials and Gen Z and highlight the many qualities that make them who they are. The film celebrates the conquests of the quintessential modern women who are relatable, yet aspirational and don’t shy away from chasing their dreams.

We have a robust influencers campaign, which bring forth inspiring stories from influencers across different genres. They share their journey to success and how the most defining moments were celebrated with a cherished gold jewellery piece as a reminder of overcoming all the challenges to make it a success. The objective of the integrated campaign is to drive relevance with the millennials and Gen Z and inspire them to express themselves through gold jewellery.

How did World Gold Council’s flagship integrated campaign 'You are Gold' aimed at millennials fare last year? How do you define the current sentiment about owning gold jewellery among the younger lot?

The campaign was rolled out in phases in order to establish a meaningful context for gold’s role in millennial and Gen Z’s lives. In terms of the impact, the campaign garnered a reach of approximately 20 million viewers via TV, 30 million viewers via OTT platforms like Hotstar, 356 million through the digital medium and another 4.3 million via key digital influencers. The campaign received an overwhelming response from the industry and continues to build a case for gold jewellery among more millennials and Gen-Z.

As demonstrated in the campaign, the sentiment around gold jewellery has evolved for the younger generations. From a more minimalistic approach to limiting their purchases to items that are an extension of their personalities, millennials no longer view gold as a just a status symbol. Additionally, as per our recent report on India’s jewellery structure, the Indian online jewellery market has also seen rapid growth over the last few years, driven by demand from millennials, growing Internet penetration and a hike in smartphone sales. Most sales are driven by consumers aged between 18 and 45. The report states that, online buyers tend to purchase lightweight daily wear/fashion jewellery in 18-carat gold and looking ahead, the market-share of online gold jewellery in the next five years could increase to 7-10%.

What are the tenets of your overall marketing strategy? Tell us about your plans for the festive season, media mix, and way forward for World Gold Council in the near future.

The tenets of World Gold Council’s marketing strategy are to leverage customer insights to evolve the narrative around gold and align with the changing mindset of the Indian consumers in order to increase awareness, relevance and adoption of gold in India.

The media mix for the latest campaign includes television, digital, social and OTT platforms to ensure the campaign reaches, inspires and engages with all Indian millennials and Gen Z audiences. The film will be displayed on TV across 39 leading channels from numerous genres and will also be promoted on leading OTT platforms such as Disney+, Voot and Zee 5. Social and digital platforms like Google display networks, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are a part of the media mix in order to drive awareness around Diwali and the upcoming festive season.

How do you see the future of digital gold?

The risk-free, storage proof option of digital gold has proved to be a reliable investment option for this generation. Moreover, with innovative fintech and wealth-tech applications making the process even more quick and convenient, India’s retail investment market is witnessing a significant upsurge in digital gold investing. Therefore, we foresee a robust sentiment around the future of digital gold, reiterating the fact that the essence of gold as an auspicious asset and a safe haven remains the same in India, even though the ways to acquire and hold it may differ across generations.

What is a motto that guides your life and work?

There’s no better time than now!

The World Gold Council's You Are Gold campaign

Published on: Monday, October 17, 2022, 08:58 AM IST