GoldDust members ask me about paid advertising a lot. Should they be running Meta ads, how much should they spend, and what should they do when the costs keep going up and the sales don't. So I was really keen to talk to Laura Vann, who has built one of Britain's best-known independent demi-fine brands and stopped using Meta and Google ads altogether.
Laura's jewellery is stocked in Liberty, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason. She has built the brand over about ten years, in the part of the industry where most people assume you can't grow without ads.
Why demi-fine is hard
Demi-fine is a difficult place to make money. The margins are small, there's a lot of competition, and you have to sell a lot of pieces without the brand losing what made it special in the first place. Plenty of demi-fine brands deal with this by spending more on advertising every year, which only works while the numbers still add up.
Designs that are hard to copy
Laura's approach starts with the jewellery. She focuses on designs that are hard to copy and a signature style that people recognise straight away, because she thinks that's the biggest advantage an independent brand has. She also shows each new collection in a fresh, modern way, so the brand feels current without following trends.
I say this a lot in GoldDust. If your designs look like ten other brands, ads end up being the only way to get seen, and you're up against companies with much bigger budgets than yours.
What she does instead of ads
Laura puts her time into events, collaborations and building relationships, and those are still bringing people to the brand now. She talks about putting yourself in the right rooms. For most independent jewellers I think this is more realistic than it sounds, because it takes time and effort rather than a big budget.
From a family business to department stores
Laura didn't start from scratch. She took a family wholesale jewellery business and turned it into a consumer brand with its own identity, then grew it into the department stores most jewellers would love to be stocked in. More recently she has started making bespoke engagement rings and fine jewellery, and the brand still looks like hers across both.
If you're spending money on ads and you're not sure what you're getting back, I'd listen to this episode before you top up your budget. Ads tend to work much better for a brand people already recognise, so I'd look at the product and your relationships first.
Listen to the full episode with Laura Vann on the GoldDust podcast.
GoldDust is the membership for independent jewellery designers building a stronger, more distinctive brand. Join the collective here.