Michael Hill’s ambition was to break out from decades as a discount retailer to become a premium jewellery brand, in doing so capturing more of the market, finding new growth in higher-value customer segments.
Years of retail promotion had conditioned shoppers to favor Michael Hill based on price, eroding quality perceptions and commoditising the product. Qualitative research confirmed Michael Hill brand was seen more ‘like a suburban accountant than a fine jeweller’ . This is a problem when you sell engagement rings!
The brand was fatigued, masculine and mass.
The business was acutely aware the new high-value audience was full of hardened Michael Hill rejectors, who thought ‘an engagement ring from Michael Hill would be engagement suicide’.
Brief; be the anti-thesis of mass.
Creative north star; Contemporary Nostalgia.
Inspired by our origins, Michael and Christine Hill are the original independent jewellers. We looked back to our past to inform the future.
