Rarely, if ever, do you hear ‘brand recognition’ and ‘natural resources’ mentioned in the same breath.

That, however, is exactly what happens if you chance to engage in conversation with Graham Nicholls, vice-president of external affairs with Vancouver-based BHP Diamonds, the company that co-owns Ekati Diamonds.

Located in the Northwest Territories, approximately 300 kilometres from Yellowknife, Ekati is the first diamond mine in Canada. Jointly owned by BHP and Dia Met Minerals, it controls some five per cent of the world’s diamonds, and will continue to do so for at least the next 25 years (the anticipated life span of the mine).

Barely a year into production, Ekati is now in the process of building its name on the world stage through sponsorship and advertising.

In this, it faces no small challenge. De Beers Consolidated Mines, which controls approximately 70% of the world’s diamonds, has long undertaken aggressive branding efforts, to increase the appeal of its products to the end consumer. To call it the dominant brand name in the industry is to engage in almost laughable understatement.

If Ekati is to build widespread brand recognition in the industry – with jewelers, dealers, traders and large retail chains – then it has a great deal of work to do.

Enter Wasserman & Partners Advertising of Vancouver, which won the account in June.

Wasserman’s strategy, says account director Gary Grafton, is to play up that characteristic which makes Ekati unique – namely, its locale.

While other diamond mines, he explains, are situated in countries generally seen as unstable – such as Russia and South Africa – Ekati’s home is steadfast, dependable Canada.

With this in mind, Wasserman developed a logo for the mine that prominently features the Canadian maple leaf. This emblem, Grafton says, communicates many of the attributes associated with Canada: trustworthiness, reliability and good citizenship. It also evokes a certain air of ethical responsibility – an important quality in the business of producing diamonds.

Four double-page print ads, developed for the trade press, serve to further idealize Canada, pairing images of the pristine north with photographs of the Inuit. (‘Ekati’ is the aboriginal name for the area of the Northwest Territories where the mine is located.)

Grafton says the imagery conveys a pure and clean nature – precisely the sort of association that Ekati would like its brand name to evoke.

In addition to advertising in trade publications, Ekati signed on as a sponsor for the Genealogical Institute of America symposium in San Diego earlier this year – a once-a-decade event that gave the brand some valuable exposure.

Nicholls says he knows of no other diamond producers, other than De Beers, that are currently involved in this kind of reputation-building within the trade. ‘There just aren’t new producers of any significance that would have the justification to embark on this type of initiative,’ he says.

Branding, however, may well take on greater importance for the industry in future. De Beers, for example, is now testing a strategy whereby it would brand diamonds – literally – by etching the company name right into the polished stone. Ekati isn’t anywhere near that stage yet, Nicholls says, but it’s by no means out of the question.

‘Diamonds are quite a unique [product],’ he says, ‘but they could perhaps start to take on the characteristics of other very high end products, such as watches and fashion.’

Despite the movement towards synthetic diamonds and diamond enhancements, Nicholls adds, consumers still generally prefer natural diamonds.

While Ekati is Canada’s first diamond mine, it may not be the last for long. A second mine, also located in the far north, has recently passed the federal government’s environmental assessment process.

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