1. Affluent Branding
There‟s an interesting article I read recently where the author talked about marketing and
branding and how the affluent market is being marketed to like the middle class. Having worked
in outside sales for years, and in the lower-income sector, the middle class, the affluent, the
super-affluent, and even business sectors, I‟ve seen a wide range of what makes folks
tick. Layton Han for MediaPost writes, “More than a decade on, marketing to affluent
customers is in a transitional phase. Instead of mass brands buying up luxury brands to gain
access to the affluent segment, affluent brands are co-opting mass-marketing tactics. Any
company can learn a lot from this transition, and digital marketing is the perfect vehicle for
executing these practices.” There‟s value in that statement. Digital marketing can learn a lot,
and he goes on to provide three specific examples of Focusing on the Intangibles, the
Experience, and Picking the Right Associations.
When the author talks about BMW and how it now markets across varying socio-economic
demographics, it makes a light bulb go off. BMW has always been a “luxury” brand, but rather
than market itself as just a “luxury brand”, the company has decided to rebrand itself as a
company focused on “quality and performance”. Of course it‟s business model supports a range
of options from it‟s affordable 3-series, to it‟s super high end 760 series sedan. Now its
marketing is following suit. We all hear hip-hop artists rap about Gucci this and Fendi that, but
what if Gucci had an “affordable line” that was sold at Macy‟s? It‟s a great example of focusing
on the intangibles, and like the author says, “purchase behavior, customer attitude and
segmentation are not the province of luxury brands.”
When discussing the experience, Han talks about Emirates Air and how they changed their
marketing in the UK to include various other countries. This seems strangely familiar to Virgin
America, who‟s price point is definitely not catered solely to the affluent. When Virgin America
first came on the map, I liked it because I liked Richard Branson, who as the eccentric billionaire
owner is cooler than a talking Chia-Pet. However, when I would perform my research on the
airline, I was overwhelmed with the focus on the experience and how in flight, we can text other
seats, play games, order right from the seat without ringing the button, etc. Granted, they will
send the emails “Fly as low as $49 each way”, etc. much like Southwest, but for me it really was
about the experience, and that‟s why I‟m praying for the day Virgin expands into my home
state. I‟ll go home once every two months.
Lastly, Han discusses the NFL and how Mercedes inked a 10-year deal to sponsor the
Superdome. From what we‟ve all seen on the media, New Orleans has plenty of impoverished,
so why would a luxury brand like Mercedes sponsor a stadium in such a city? He writes,

2. “The high-profile events and the success and stature of the building‟s primary tenant — the
Saints — are expected to help the marketability of Mercedes-Benz, which has plans to unveil a
new fleet of automobiles that cater to a wide-ranging audience. Said Mercedes CEO Ernst Lieb
at a press conference announcing the deal: “This is tremendous for us. We are basically looking
at, „Where are our customers, where are we today selling our cars,‟ and we have cars starting at
$31,000. And down the road, you will see that we are going to go a lot more forceful into that
segment, even below $30,000, which means many of the 73,000 people who are going to come
in here for the games actually can afford a car like this.”
Not everyone agrees. Jim Andrews at Sponsorship.com writes,
“Although I understand the iconic nature of the Superdome and the value of connecting with its
feel-good comeback story from the depths of the Katrina aftermath, the main benefits of a
naming rights deal are still national exposure—which I question whether a well-established
brand like Mercedes needs—and a regional activation platform—which could be purchased with
an official team deal sans venue naming rights. Other benefits being thrown around—primarily
the connection to Super Bowl and Final Four events hosted at the Superdome—are vastly
overrated. Without an NFL or NCAA sponsorship, Mercedes will be blocked from the most
valuable assets connected to those marquee properties. Mercedes-Benz is a smart sponsor, as has
been demonstrated through their Fashion Week and other deals. They also have a track record in
naming rights deals, with their venue titles in Germany and China. My guess is that they were
able to get this deal at a price lower than what other NFL stadium deals have gone for. That‟s the
only way they are going to earn a positive ROI.”
Who knows what the deal was for. Who cares. Branding is just as important as marketing and
I‟m glad that the affluent marketing bigwigs have finally gotten the message. We hear you, loud
and clear.
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