Jeweler Tiffany & Co. employed Chinese composer Tan Dun to create a piece that sets the tone for the brand among affluent consumers.
Mr. Dun’s composition was inspired by the jeweler’s Tiffany Diamond, a 128-karat yellow diamond that made its debut in China early in December. Tapping a local, yet world-renowned, musician will help Tiffany appeal to affluent Chinese consumers with a penchant for modern classical music.
"This composition by Mr. Dun creates excellent content for Tiffany to use in various forms of social and digital media to reach a large audience of followers and to attract new followers in China," said Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center, Atlanta.
"The composition, especially in combination with the display, will also draw attention from the other traditional media," he said.
"This promotion demonstrates Tiffany’s great interest in the Chinese market and its recognition of the nationalistic interests and pride of the Chinese people."
Mr. Kurtz is not affiliated with Tiffany, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Tiffany & Co. did not respond by press deadline.
A diamond composition
Mr. Dun is best known for his scores written for films such as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Heroes.” The composition inspired by the Tiffany Diamond is the first musical piece to be written about the precious stone.
Tiffany is using its social media pages to spread the tune of Mr. Dun’s Tiffany Diamond song. The jeweler posted a music video on its Facebook page for its followers worldwide to enjoy.
Mr. Dun’s video begins with a shot of a Fifth Avenue street sign in New York. New York’s skyline is shown before the camera focuses on various views of the Tiffany flagship on Fifth Avenue.
The three-minute video shows Mr. Dun walking up to the building and going inside. Once inside, Mr. Dun walks up to a display case and looks inside with wonder but the viewer does not see what he is looking at.
Next, the camera shows the Tiffany Diamond in its display case alongside Mr. Dun’s reflection. The next scene fades to a Tiffany blue and features both Mandarin and English subtitles that describe the relationship between composer, jeweler and diamond.
Video still
Then the video shows a brownstone building’s facade while Mr. Dun narrates. Mr. Dun continues to explain how the diamond’s qualities relate to music and served as an inspiration for his composition.
Mr. Dun says that he hopes his music can bring the listener a “deep sense of joy” as he pens musical notes on a clear dry-erase board. The video travels to a Tiffany workshop and shows Mr. Dun’s music sheet before the text explains that this is the first song inspired by the diamond, played for the first time in China.
Tan Dun & the Tiffany Diamond
To debut the composition and introduce the Tiffany Diamond to China, the jeweler held “A Brilliant Legacy” where archival pieces were on display. Mr. Dun performed the Tiffany Diamond score with his orchestra for the attendees which included Tiffany & Co. chairman and CEO Michael Kowalski, actresses Carina Lau and Ni Ni and actor Da Wei Tong.
Sing a little song
Tiffany’s sophisticated approach to unveiling its yellow diamond to Chinese consumers will likely resonate with the country’s prospective consumers. Other brands have looked to music to appeal to consumers on a more personal level.
Furthermore, luxury brands that create playlists and maintain a profile on Internet music provider Spotify can show off their identities and further engage with consumers through shared music interests.
Brands including Bergdorf Goodman, Pierre Balmain, Hugo Boss and Rebecca Minkoff have used Spotify to create and share playlists that embody the brand’s character. Through a program like Spotify, brands are able to connect with consumers through a more emotional form such as music (see story).
Musical events can also help showcase a brand's personality.
For example, British label Burberry hosted Brit Rhythm music events in New York, London and Singapore to promote its men’s fragrance collection and emboss the brand’s associations with music.
The post-punk band White Lies and indie-rock quartet Peace alternated between the #THISISBRIT locations to lift the Brit Rhythm fragrance campaign to a crescendo after a multi-tiered campaign. Three videos that aim to capture the tone of each night have been released to captivate the many fans unable to attend the events (see story).
Working with a local musician can help a brand in an unfamiliar market introduce itself to a new audience of consumers.
"By using local talents, a brand can be more confident that its communications are accurate and inclusive of the nuances of the language," Mr. Kurtz said. "It also can show its sensitivity to the nationalistic interests and pride of the people it is targeting."
Final Take
Jen King, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York