Exec speaks to Ilan Dahan, International Marketing Coordinator of Polar Bear Diamond, about provenance, branding and the Hollywood effect
Written by Sam Wright and produced by Jason Wright
It’s not that often that Hollywood hits the right note when it comes to heavyweight issues. Yet 2006’s Leonardo DiCaprio-led hit Blood Diamond managed to push a controversial subject - how jewels mined in conflict zones are used to fund war efforts, often illicitly – firmly in to the mainstream consciousness.
One company, however, had been aware of the situation, and acting upon it, for some time. Formed in 1998, a period that saw wars in both Sierra Leone and the Congo with an uprising in Liberia just round the corner, Polar Bear has been busy making a name for itself not just for the items that it produces, but also the importance that it places on provenance and traceability.
“When I first started here three years ago, many people weren’t aware of Polar Bear,” explains Ilan Dahan, the company’s International Marketing Coordinator, “but now, many know about what we do and the efforts that we’re making in this industry.”
A lot of this can be put down to the huge media interest in ‘blood diamonds,’ also known as ‘conflict diamonds.’ Aside from the award winning movie, many celebrities (including DiCaprio) have frequently spoken out on the subject, and in 2006, the History Channel aired Blood Diamonds, a documentary that focused on the illegal trade in Sierra Leone including interviews with warlords involved in the conflict.
All this has had, as Mr. Dahan says, some visible benefits: “It’s stirred people’s interest and made them question their morals. When people see what’s happening, it’s scary to for them to think that they could be contributing to it.”
Provenance
So what is it that makes Polar Bear Diamond so noteworthy? First of all, the company sorts, polishes, distributes and markets diamonds - in short, everything but mine them themselves. But the real selling point is that these rocks come from Canada, not Sierra Leone, Liberia or the Congo.
“90 percent of our popularity,” says Mr. Dahan, “is from the fact that we are in a zone where there’s no conflict. It’s North America. People love that mystique about it.”
This ‘mystique’ has been enough to attract a number of high-profile celebrities (Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Uma Thurman, Rene Russo and Sarah Jessica Parker all wear Polar Bear jewellery), and thanks to several successful marketing campaigns, the company has built up a reputation that has spread far from its Vancouver base.
Marketing
It may seem reasonable to think that publicity like this would come easily for a company like Polar Bear - indeed, Mr. Dahan says “when you’re dealing with diamonds, it’s very easy to attract people” - but because of the company’s selling points of provenance and quality, it has had to work just as hard as any other to build its brand image. Sometimes radio ads, bill boards and newspapers just aren’t enough. Recent campaigns have included sponsoring the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for a series of concerts, holding a fashion show in New York with designer Andy Thê-Anh and a project in conjunction with the Government of Canada, which culminated in Polar Bear giving away two carat diamonds to several lucky winners. The vast majority of these initiatives are carried out by the company itself, something of which it is very proud.
Competitive costs
The company’s in-house policy (as Mr. Dahan says, “the only thing we don’t do is clean the offices!”) serves several other purposes. First of all, in an industry as high-profile as the diamond trade, security is imperative. By keeping outsourcing to a minimum, Polar Bear has better control of who comes into contact with its products (all employees are heavily vetted) as well as being better equipped to monitor the quality of its diamonds. On top of this, costs from the supply chain are kept as low as possible. From a customer’s point of view, this is an obvious bonus.
“They’re two steps away from buying from the mine,” points out Mr. Dahan. “There’s us, there’s the retailer, and then there’s the consumer. And this is opposed to buying from another region where it goes through maybe six or seven people; there’s the cartel that mines it, the sorter, then it’s sold to a cutter, then a polisher and so on. The chain can be massive.
“That’s how we manage to stay so competitive, by cutting out all these middlemen.”
By buying direct from the mine, Polar Bear is keeping quite exclusive company. With only 100 site holders worldwide - these are companies who are allowed to buy direct - there is bound to be competition. This is set to get tighter however, with the amount of licenses set to be reduced to 80. Polar Bear has missed this streamlining, a point that Mr. Dahan says shows the strength of their relationship.
Looking forward
This is something that Mr. Dahan is keen to stress. It’s easy to imagine the diamond trade as secretive and unapproachable, but Polar Bear and its staff place a real importance in accessibility. “It’s about being a people person - this business is all about how to handle relationships,” say Mr. Dahan.
But what does the future hold for Polar Bear? According to Mr. Dahan, the company’s biggest challenges are logistics and maintaining the brand’s carefully built image, as well as expanding in overseas markets. The company is looking to the UK and Europe and is already in contact with distributors. If it can continue to build these new relationships in the same way as with its suppliers, retailers and customers, then it seems fair to say that a lot more people will be aware of the name Polar Bear Diamond over the coming years, Hollywood films or not.
Click to view the corporate brochure on polar bear diamonds