Luxury brands aren't the only segment targeting the "1 percent," the uber-rich slice of the population that has been taking a lot of heat from the so-called 99 percenters. It is these wealthiest consumers, occupying rarefied air, who vote with their checkbooks, so their preferences are closely considered and carry a lot of clout.

So what is the high net worth consumer looking for? First and foremost, superior quality, according to "Luxury Branding and Marketing: A Global Comparison of Wealthy Consumers in Top Markets," a study just released by Luxury Institute. The survey analyzed wealthy consumers with a minimum annual income of $150,000 or the local currency equivalent in China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

A broad majority (73 percent) of wealthy consumers think superior quality is the most important attribute that defines a luxury brand, followed by craftsmanship (65 percent) and design (54 percent). But increasingly, customer service is becoming a key consideration (47 percent). Customer service is even more important to Chinese consumers, who say that service has improved (63 percent).Continue reading...

Most consumer retail brands may have been battered by an economy in which said consumers are increasingly stingy with their money, but luxury brands have continued to make headway. While luxury products are not completely immune to an economic downturn, they have certainly weathered the storm better than most. That's because these are the brands that appeal to the upper echelon consumer who recognizes quality and is willing to pay for it.

But even in the luxury category, there are winners and losers, relatively speaking, which is something the Luxury Institute, a global research and CRM consulting company, studies quite carefully. The Luxury Institute analyzed more than five years of data from its surveys on dozens of luxury goods and services categories in an effort to identify "best practitioners" that have consistently scored above their competitors.

In handbags, a leading luxury category, the Institute found that "one brand stood alone in owning several critical metrics for brand vibrancy five years in a row." That brand is Coach.Continue reading...

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In the new trailer for the upcoming fourth season of Jersey Shore, a pack of Marlboros cozies up to The Situation. Yet when we contacted Philip Morris to ask about the product placement of the pack of Marlboros, particularly when the series has blurred other brands in the past, we were told by the cigarette maker, "It's not our product."Continue reading...