Monday, November 26, 2012

Luxury Consumers Exhibit New Confidence

Affluent consumer confidence had a strong upturn in the third quarter, according to an on-going tracking survey of luxury consumers by PMP author, Pam Danziger.  As a result, luxury consumers picked up their pace of shopping in the past quarter, with luxury spending up 25.8 percent over last quarter.  This according to Unity Marketing's Luxury Tracking Survey conducted October 9-15, 2012 among 1,289 affluent consumers (avg. income $290.6k; avg. age 44 years.)

"The first half of 2012 showed affluent consumers restrained in spending on luxury goods and services, but spending rebounded strongly in the third quarter survey,"  Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury:  How new consumer values are redefining the way we market luxury.  "Over half (52 percent) of affluent consumer surveyed feel they are financially better off today than twelve months ago; this measure hasn't been this high since 1Q2011.  Rising even more sharply is the percentage of luxury consumers who feel the country as a whole is doing better now as compared with three months ago.  Some 37 percent of affluent surveyed feel the country is now moving in the right direction, up 15 percentage points from last quarter," Danziger reports.

Rising affluent consumer confidence is sparking a pick up in spending on luxuries, with these categories posting the strongest quarter-over-quarter increase:
  • Luxury clothing and apparel, with spending up 95.2 percent over second quarter;
  • Luxury kitchenware and cooks' tools, up 83.1 percent;
  • Luxury beauty, cosmetics, fragrances, up 75.4 percent;
  • Luxury dining, up 67.7 percent; and
  • Luxury fashion accessories, up 52.2 percent.
"Throughout 2011 and 2012, we have seen luxury consumer spending mostly on a downward trajectory, with their feelings of consumer confidence as measured by the Luxury Consumption Index (LCI) wavering over the same period.  Finally in the latest survey, we see a strong measure of growing confidence which should give marketers from high-end to mid-market a boost.  After all the affluent consumers we survey are the economy's 'heavy-lifters,' accounting for only 20 percent of U.S. households but over 40 percent of all consumer spending,"  Danziger explains.

Unity Marketing has been calculating the LCI since first quarter 2004 based upon five key measures of luxury consumer confidence including their expectations for future spending on luxury, their personal financial conditions and their overall assessment of the economy as a whole, in surveys conducted every three months among over 1,200 affluent luxury consumers.  This quarter's luxury tracking survey, conducted from October 9-15, 2012, took the measure of 1,289 luxury consumers (average income $290.6k; avg. age 44 years; median net worth $797k.)

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Viewing General Media Doesn't Mean Abandoning Ethnic Media

Many marketers believe that if their target audience uses the general media, their messages do not need to appear in media that are targeted to specific ethnic audiences. PMP author, Pepper Miller, disagrees.

In her recently released book, Black Still Matters in Marketing, Miller writes "African Americans, both young and old are seeking and developing deeper connections with people like them in both online and offline media environments. Black Americans use general market media, but embrace Black media. Being comfortable with diverse media does not mean the abandonment of Black media. It's not one or the other, but both. [Media that targets multicultural consumers] means showing overtly that you are seeking a connection to particular consumer groups in their native settings, social media networks, and through their preferred entertainment."

Miller and the co-author of the chapter on Black media, Kevin Walker, CEO of CultureLab suggest specific TV channels and online blogs and portals that speak to Black Americans.

Black Still Matters in Marketing is found at the PMP website as well as on Amazon and through other booksellers.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Guidelines for PR with the New Media

Among other very useful items in Teneshia Jackson Warner's just-released book, Profit with Purpose: A Marketer's guide to Delivering Purpose-Driven Campaigns to Multicultural Audiences, are seven steps for dealing with the new media scene.

The first is one that is timely and timeless, no matter what medium you are approaching with a public relations campaign. "Make it easy for reporters," writes Jackson Warner. "Journalists, like everyone, are hard pressed for time and the easier you make it for a reporter to write a story, the better your chances of clinching the deal."

2. Buy an iPhone and/or an iPad. With the media creating content for these platforms, you need to be personally familiar with them.

3. Don't pitch via social media. Eighty percent of journalists prefer to be contacted through email.

4.  Media outlets want more than just text. They're looking for pictures and video too.

5.  Get to know journalists on social media platforms. Follow their Tweets. But unless you know them personally don't 'friend' them on Facebook.

6. Pitch the TV newsroom between eight and nine in the morning, if possible, to precede the daily staff meeting. Unless it's breaking news, pitch your story a few days or a week ahead of time. TV journalists also want to speak to real people using your product, not just a CEO or spokesperson.

7. The old rules for pitching still apply. Just because social media has rocked the boat doesn't mean it's a different boat. Hold fast to the traditional etiquete of introduction first and questions later.

Among other reader benefits, Profit with Purpose has hundreds of tips for dealing with celebrity endorsements, choosing partners to promote your purpose, and includes a guide to the causes with which specific  celebrities are involved.

Click on the links above for a special money-saving offer on this new title.