I hate Steven Singer!
No; just kidding. Steven Singer seems like a jovial individual. Of course, if you are a fan of shock jock Howard Stern, you certainly know Steven Singer as the Philadelphia native and owner of Steven Singer Jewelers hawking his product on Stern’s radio show for decades. Like Howard Stern, Singer marches to the beat of his own drum. As a shock jock, of sorts, in the advertising world, the payoff has been considerable.
Singer made his mark using four simple words – I hate Steven Singer - as a branding niche to sell his jewelry.
Mirroring other advertising pioneers who broke through the promotional space clutter, both national and local (think elderly Clara Peller screeching “Where’s the Beef?” for fast food chain Wendy’s; the depressed Maytag Man; and the middle-aged guy complaining that he “can’t believe he ate the whole thing” for Alka-Seltzer, among others), this simplistic - and self-depreciating - type of relatable branding has left a lasting impact for Steven Singer Jewelers.
“I had no customers, I had no money, I had no real estate, and I had to find a way to break through when I opened in 1980,” said Steven Singer. “We did a TV ad on the local news, which was truly terrible. And I vowed then that I was going to learn what I need to know about marketing, advertising, and communications.”
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From The Beginning
“Initially, we handed out flyers and gave away giveaways to attract attention for Steven Singer Jewelers. Then, in 1984, I realized there was a competing jeweler running spots on a local entry called The John DeBella Show and I made a mental note to find a show for myself,” remembered Singer. “I used to drive to New York to do business and I would hear Howard Stern doing, and saying, outrageous things on NBC radio. He was in New York, and I was in Philadelphia, and there was no internet, so I just listened.”
“When I heard that Howard would begin being broadcast in Philadelphia, I made it a point to get on his show,” he noted. “I did not matter what he said about me; just as long as he said something - and kept saying it.”
At the time, the expansion of The Howard Stern Show to Philadelphia was a test to see if his radio show could go national. But, like New York, it did not come without its obstacles. National advertisers like McDonald’s, Chevrolet, Ford and co*ke, to name a few, steered clear of any association with his show.
“Howard Stern was toxic at the time, so the only advertiser he could get was someone local; somebody that was like me,” remembered Singer. “There were protestors outside citing family values, and the more outraged they got the more I liked it. They were not saying that I am a bad jeweler or my jewelry is worthless. And what they did, with this uproar, was shine attention on me.”
“We road on Howard’s coattails. The bigger he got, the bigger we became,” he said. “Then he had a TV show on Channel 9 in New York several years later and we shot a commercial. Then his show expanded to Washington, D.C. By the time he had an almost national network we were doing sponsorships and contests and things in the show that got us national attention. The internet was coming into prominence at that point, and we took advantage of it.”
Next for Howard Stern was Sirius Radio, which for Steven Singer Jewelers only broadened the exposure.
“People knew us from Howard Stern and I started to gain name recognition because of him,” noted Singer. “We were heavily involved in the show, and it got us invites to appear on other shows and venues.”
Steven Singer Marketing Themes
Shades of Howard Stern, the earlier “Does Size Matter?” marketing theme for Steven Singer Jewelers was not exactly all that family friendly (at least via what it could have implied). It featured three women in a hot tub talking about does size matter. But the reference in this case (and not what you might have immediately assumed) was to the size of a diamond ring.
“We always viewed ourselves, in our business model and in our marketing, as the combination of Tiffanys and Walmart if they got together and had a baby,” joked Singer. “More specifically, we have the quality caliber of Tiffanys and the logistics and the price of a Walmart. And we cater to everyone.”
Looking to differentiate itself, an actual incident at the Philadelphia store led to the now infamous “I Hate Steven Singer” branding.” Specifically, man bought his wife a ring from Steven Singer Jewelry for their 20th wedding anniversary, which led to the couple having a third – and accidental – child. When the man tells Singer about their new offspring, he blames his late-night bottle and diaper changes, among other things, on Singer and his diamond rings by yelling “I hate Steven Singer!”
“If I didn’t give my wife that jewelry, none of this would have happened!,” he barked.
Flash to the present, and what started as nothing more than comical banter has morphed into a highly recognizable and award-winning branding campaign. Singer made the phrase the basis for his entire brand, with billboards, radio spots, the store’s website and, of course, The Howard Stern Show, solidifying “I Hate Steven Singer” as synonymous with the definition of successful branding.
“Initially, the billboard companies would not run it. None of the radio stations would. Everyone who knew about it did not want to do it,” recalled Singer. “Once we launched the campaign, the more we didn’t tell anyone what the joke was the more attention it got. And the first person who walked in after we launched the campaign, who completely berated us for using the word hate, ended up spending $1,500 on a diamond bracelet.”
“From that moment forward it just kept getting better and better,” he noted. “A year later, we won two Addy Awards in the advertising campaign for the radio category and we were featured in Billboard magazine for Billboard of the Year.”
New National Ad Campaign “Free Diamonds” Pokes Fun at Lab Grown Diamonds with a Fake Fiancée
Looking ahead, Steven Singer Jewelers is giving away $3 million in free lab grown diamonds on Saturday, August 12 (on a first come basis as supplies last, no purchase necessary) promoted under the “I Hate Steven Singer” umbrella called “Free Diamonds.” Naturally, this is yet another reason for the competing jewelers to hate him! The spot, which is one of 24 in total (8 ads each for TV, digital and radio) features a man proposing with a diamond ring he is ready to give to what turns out to be a blow-up doll. “It’s not a real diamond; she could do better,” says Steven Singer as he is bussing tables in the video ad. “Real natural Earth born diamonds, for your real love from a real jeweler you can trust.”
The national advertising campaign will also feature billboards and radio ads launching in markets that include Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, New Jersey, Fort Meyers, and Washington D.C.
“Diamonds are definitely a girl’s best friend, just like the famous song,” said Steven Singer in a press release promoting the campaign. “It’s no surprise Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and even Brittney have filmed videos draped in diamonds, but we’re talking about real diamonds. While lab-grown may be an isometric carbon system like Earth Born diamonds, it is merely an imitation of an incredible natural process and the similarity to a diamond is not a good enough reason to use them in something as special as jewelry.”
Given the 100 lab grown diamonds giveaway, it may be particularly hard at present to “hate” Steven Singer. But chances are he still wants you to!
