FOCUS: BRAND ENGAGEMENT DROP | AUDIENCE: STEWARDS OF PLATEAUED BRANDS
I helped a jewellery house revive its founder’s personal brand after his son repositioned off the brand shine.
The founder of a renowned legacy jewellery house had built his brand through decades of exquisite craftsmanship, personal client relationships, and a signature design language that blended classical Indian motifs with contemporary refinement. His image was central to the brand … clients associated his presence with trust, taste, and tradition.
But when his son took over the business, things changed. The younger generation introduced a trendier vibe: flashier designs, bold influencer campaigns, nightclub-style store launches. The founder was gently moved into the background, and with him, the essence of what had made the brand unique. Online engagement began to dip, especially from loyal customers and older luxury buyers. Despite glossy marketing, the soul of the brand had gone quiet … and so had its digital traction.
The business hadn’t failed, but it had flattened. Despite new attention from a younger crowd, conversions from high-net-worth clients stalled. I discovered the deeper issue wasn’t about aesthetics or even pricing … it was about a disconnect between the founder’s legacy and the brand’s evolving expression.
When I analysed user behaviour on the brand’s website and Instagram, one pattern was clear: the highest engagement still came from posts where the founder featured … his sketches, his quotes, his process. The son’s version of the brand had erased what the audience most revered: a sense of lineage, emotional trust, and handcrafted authority. In a bid for modernity, the brand had lost its magnetism.
I proposed a radical reframe: reposition the founder not as the past … but as the origin and ongoing ethos of the brand. Instead of pitting legacy against youth, I integrated the founder’s voice into the brand’s future-facing narrative.
I crafted a new digital storyline: the founder as mentor, muse, and master designer emeritus. He would not be sidelined, but strategically spotlighted … through curated memories, design archives, and ongoing inspiration. This approach didn’t diminish the son’s contribution; it created a “bridge of brilliance” between past and present. It allowed both personalities to flourish … one as the heart, the other as the drive.
I restructured the entire online presence around this idea. A new content pillar was introduced across web and social titled “The Founder’s Touch” … featuring his sketches, design notes, and client stories. We created a founder’s letter series, an origin film, and a limited edition line signed by him.
In parallel, I rewrote product pages and marketing content to reconnect the jewellery with the founder’s design philosophy, using his language, metaphors, and stories. Influencer campaigns were refined to include references to his legacy. The content no longer chased youth trends blindly; it reasserted the brand’s right to define taste, not follow it.
Here are 10 strategic ideas developed (and several executed) to support the new brand direction:
Founder’s Touch Series: A recurring blog and Instagram format featuring founder’s design stories and creative insights.
Sketch-to-Store Reels: Short videos showing original sketches by the founder evolving into final jewellery pieces.
Legacy Lookbook: A digital lookbook highlighting heritage pieces still influencing the current collection.
Masterclass Snippets: Clips of the founder giving design critiques or sharing insights on jewellery craftsmanship.
Mentor Moments: Behind-the-scenes interactions between founder and son, showcasing intergenerational continuity.
Founder’s Favourites: A curated carousel of jewellery personally endorsed by the founder each season.
Signature Line Launch: A product line tied to the founder’s initials or hallmark style, marketed as heritage revival.
Origin Film: A short video for the homepage narrating the founder’s journey and his enduring influence.
Client Memoirs: Testimonials from long-standing patrons who’ve followed the founder’s work across decades.
Quote Cards: Stylised visual cards with founder’s handwritten quotes about beauty, detail, and legacy.
CONFIDENTIALITY CAVEAT: This case study represents a confidential engagement. For privacy, specific brand identifiers, campaign names, and project phases have been withheld. It has been shared with permission while preserving client discretion.
If you’re an investor seeking momentum for your portfolio brands, this Case Study Post I wrote could interest you: “How a Millet Snack Brand Bit Off More Variety Than It Could Swallow.“
And if you’re a solo expert looking to sharpen traction, this Case Study Post I worked on may resonate: “How a Career Strategist Lost Her Story Fixing Everyone Else’s.“
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