By Cassimir Medford

Spot Runner, an Internet-based ad agency, on Monday continued to define its own category with the announcement of a deal that will assist United States diamond retailers and manufacturers in promoting the diamond industry’s coordinated ad campaigns on local TV.

United States

And with a hit movie, Blood Diamond, currently raising the very real issue of atrocities committed in the illegal mining of raw diamonds in Africa, the need for some diamond industry image-enhancement at the local level may be in order.

Africa

Los Angeles-based Spot Runner teamed with Diamond Promotion Service (DPS), a unit of a New York-based ad agency that provides marketing and merchandizing support to the jewelry industry, to help promote local shops using inexpensive TV advertising.

The partnership gives diamond retailers and jewelry makers access to Spot Runner’s online TV ad production and media-buying services. Local retailers can go to a co-sponsored site and choose ad templates that are then automatically customized for them.

The ads will also incorporate whatever marketing initiative the industry is currently promoting. Today it’s “A Diamond Is Forever.”

The media planning and program buying are also automated online. After a few clicks, local retailers or manufacturers can launch campaigns on a number of TV networks, including Oxygen, Bravo, and HGTV, for as little as $1,500.

Blood Rivalry

Local jewelry stores are caught up in the same competitive maelstrom faced by other local retailers. They face competition from national retailers, TV networks such as HSN, the Internet in the form of eBay and other sites, and lately from issues raised by the movie Blood Diamond.

Blood Diamond.

The movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, focuses on diamonds harvested in war zones, the proceeds of which are used to finance wars and ongoing insurgencies.

The illegal and often bloody trade that has financed wars is hardly new, but the image-conscious industry has taken the initiative to promote “conflict-free” diamonds. But the marketing focus, as always, is the “timelessness” of diamonds.

“One of the key benefits of the program is the opportunity for jewelry retailers to align their messaging with our ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ messaging in their own ad campaigns,” Cristina Lilly, core program director at DPS, said in a statement.

“We spend a significant amount annually to publicize our core themes, and our campaigns are extremely popular and well-known, so jewelry stores that take advantage of this program will clearly have an edge over their competition,” Ms. Lilly added.

On the Spot

Spot Runner, which wrings cost out of the ad production and media-buying processes through online automation, got a $40-million equity investment six weeks ago from a group of advertising and media companies including WPP, Interpublic Group, and CBS (see See Spot Runner Get $40M).

See Spot Runner Get $40M

Also included were media executive Lachlan Murdoch, the elder son of mogul Rupert Murdoch, and financier Vivi Nevo.

Spot Runner has also been seeking out franchisors and industry organizations to gain access to large groups of local firms at a time. The company has made significant headway in the real estate and personal fitness industries (see Spot Runner Franchises TV Ads).