Trendsetters: The Luxury Marketing Council's Chris Ramey Talks About Messages That Stick

According to Chris Ramey, "Luxury marketers have the responsibility to grow their organizations regardless of the economy and external issues." He adds, "Given proper targeting and messaging, there are opportunities for growth. However, it does mean luxury marketers have to revisit their selling strategies to be successful."

Ramey is Chairman of several chapters of the global Luxury Marketing Council, an invitation-only, results-oriented network of 3000+ leading luxury marketing executives that represents over 875 luxury goods and services companies worldwide. The Council acts as a think tank, intelligence source and originator of collaborations, so that member organizations can explore issues and trends and also build more profitable relationships with their customers through innovative marketing. Chris Ramey is also President of Affluent Insights, a marketing consulting firm.

He cites a Valentini ad that communicates legacy, family and tradition while underscoring an affluent value system that transcends simple shopping. "This is a luxury message that sticks regardless of today's stock market volatility."

Chris Ramey suggests that marketers ask: What is your brand communicating? How does it elevate you from your competition? Is your merchandising, messaging, and marketing consistent with the core values of your targeted consumer?

While he claims that it is too early to determine the long-term impact of the current unpredictability of the stock market, luxury companies are concerned that the affluent consumer may recede from spending--signaling perhaps another downtown. However, Ramey cites research from the American Affluence Research Center that suggests an improved outlook for the strengthening of future spending plans among the affluent. (The next report will be available on October 14th.)

Current findings show the following trends:

• Spending plans for all 17 products and services tracked are much stronger than in the Fall 2010 survey. There is also improvement in plans to make major expenditures such as for a new auto, a cruise, and a vacation home.
  
• Discounts by prestige brands during the past two or three years of a weak economy have apparently been accepted by affluent and luxury consumers without diluting the stature of the brands.
  
• While 65% of the affluent own a smart phone or a tablet (or both), the remainder have regular access to a computer. Half of the affluent say they do not participate in any type of social media.

This data suggests that the affluent recognize there are certain situations where discounting by prestige brands is reasonable and understandable, if not part of an ongoing practice. About half said discounts seemed to be a reasonable way to maintain sales during the past two or three years. Less than 20% said the discounts raised potentially negative questions about whether quality had been lowered to offset the discounts and whether prior prices and profit margins were fair.

Among those that do participate in social media, only 25% say they use social media to receive regular communications about products or related information from a manufacturer or retailer. In other words, only 12.5% of the affluent say they are using social media to receive regular product information from a manufacturer or retailer.

This relatively low number (12.5% of the affluent) may be surprising given general data about the volume and growth of e-commerce, mobile devices, mobile apps and promotional activities online through proprietary sites and social media. It is important to understand who will actually be reached through mobile devices and social media (and whether the ROI is reasonable), what technology is needed to be compatible with the various different mobile and other receiving devices, and who might be missed if communications are limited exclusively to these channels.

For more information on Affluent Tracking Studies, go to:
http://affluenceresearch.org/research-surveys/

For more information on the Luxury Marketing Council, go to:
http://www.luxurymarketingcouncil.com/