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Tiffany & Co. tugs heartstrings with consumer-curated true love app

July 13, 2011

What Makes Love True app

Jeweler Tiffany & Co. is allowing the customer to take the lead by sharing true love stories, favorite romantic locations and engagement tips via the What Makes Love True iPhone application.

The app complements the What Makes True Love microsite that Tiffany launched in June. The brand is enticing lovebirds to share their own stories while also providing videos, romance tips, movies and songs to warm the heart.

“Tiffany & Co. and its signature blue box are the most recognizable symbols of true love,” said Carson Glover, director of worldwide media relations at Tiffany & Co., New York.

“Hearts beat faster and love grows stronger when a Tiffany gift is presented to a loved one,” he said. “The What Makes Love True app will engage consumers and remind them of all of the possibilities that true love and romance have to offer.”

Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Tiffany’s What Makes Love True microsite shares a lot of the same content as this app. It was launched early last month, just in time for wedding season (see story).

The app is split into four sections: love stories, Tiffany’s New York, the art of romance and love is everywhere.

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Tiffany true love stories

Love stories allows Tiffany customers to share their stories via written content and video.

Director and actor Ed Burns presents the “Will You Marry Me?” section, where real New York couples share their love stories.

The app also reveals 10 real couples and Tiffany customers from around the world who share how their love grew over time and their proposal story – ending with a branded engagement ring, of course.

The Tiffany’s New York section lists romantic places around the city that have been selected by Tiffany employees.

The locations are split up into sections such as cocktails and canoodling, magnificent meals, nature lovers and the cultured couple.

The art of romance section displays romantic songs from artists such as Cat Power, Fred Astaire, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton and John Legend and lists films such as An Affair to Remember, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Goodbye Girl and West Side Story.

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Music section on the Tiffany app

This part also reveals romance and engagement tips for “when love gets serious.”

The final section is called love is everywhere. Users are given a map of New York and are able to add a heart to the location, signifying a monumental moment in their relationship.

Consumers can tap on the hearts that are already on the map and view the couple’s initials and why the location is special to them.

Two love
This is Tiffany’s second app. Its first is an engagement ring app that merges mobile and interactive shopping for consumers who are looking to select an engagement ring (see story).

However, this app seems to be trying to communicate with consumers in a different way.

What Makes Love True does not have a call to action, nor a chance to view any Tiffany products, except those that are being worn by the couples featured in the app.

“This application extends Tiffany’s ‘What Makes Love True’ concept from online to mobile,” said Alistair Crane, CEO of Grapple, London. “The app is only available on iPhone, so it caters to a niche market.

“Its aim appears to be to extend the Tiffany brand beyond luxury jewelry to more of an aspirational lifestyle brand by drawing associations with exclusive New York bars, restaurants, classic films, music and the city as a whole,” he said.

By connecting classic love stories with a city where Tiffany is headquartered, it will connect consumers and especially New Yorkers with the brand.

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Tiffany’s New York section

Tiffany further encourages engagement by allowing users to share their own content.

Although this app is definitely attempting to attract new customers who may be thinking about getting married, or pulling on the heartstrings of those who already are, it does so in a less obvious way than the Tiffany engagement ring finder app.

Other brands, such as Christian Dior, have made multiple apps for different product lines (see story).

Given the large amount of content on both apps, it is likely that consumers would lose focus if it was all combined on one app.

“Brands, especially those as big as Tiffany, should certainly be looking to create more than one app,” Mr. Crane said. “As brands and businesses may have several different Web sites for different aspects of their business or for particular campaigns, so they should have individual apps.

“In addition, brands and businesses should constantly be watching and learning from the apps they have created already to get a better understanding of what their customers want, and using this information to enhance, refine and inform future app developments,” he said.

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York

Rachel Lamb is an associate reporter on Luxury Daily. Her beats are apparel and accessories, arts and entertainment, education, food and beverage, fragrance and personal care, government, healthcare, home furnishings, jewelry, legal/privacy and nonprofits. Reach her at rachel@napean.com.