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Luxury/Affluent Consumer Research Project Plan
Quarterly Luxury Tracking Study 2004

Study Objectives:

Connecting with the consumer is the most important priority for today's luxury marketer. Following the past two years of global turbulence, luxury marketers are no longer guaranteed that the prestige of their brand will resonate with today's increasingly discriminating, cautious and discount-hunting affluent shopper.

Luxury marketers can no longer afford to guess at what's on the mind of their affluent customers, what new luxuries they desire, and what passions drive their spending. To bring new insights about luxury consumers and provide market intelligence for marketing and strategic planning is the goal of Unity Marketing's new Luxury Consumer Tracking Survey.

The Luxury Consumer Tracking Service is a cost-effective way for luxury marketers to get early warning of changes and shifts in the market. It will affluent consumers' brand awareness and purchase so luxury marketers can measure the success of new marketing communications and advertising programs. It will give marketers a view 'over the horizon' of what trends are coming and how those trends will affect the luxury consumer. Through this service, luxury marketers will keep their finger on the pulse of their affluent customers.

The findings of the Luxury Consumer Tracking Survey will be available exclusively to study subscribers.

Methodology:

Beginning in March 2004, and every three months thereafter, 500 affluent consumer households will be surveyed to assess what luxuries they purchased over the past three months, how much they spent, and their future spending plans. The tracking study will be focused specifically on the subscribers' information needs.

To enable luxury marketers to understand variations within the affluent market, perspectives of three different segments of the luxury market will be gathered, based on household income: $75,000-$99,999 (near-affluent); $100,000-$149,999 (affluent); $150,000+ (super-affluent). The survey will be fielded quarterly using a panel of affluent consumers recruited by a highly reputable and reliable online polling service.

Three major luxury categories will be included in each quarterly survey:

    * Home Luxury Products, including luxury art and antiques; electronics and/or photography; home decorating fabrics, window and wall coverings; furniture and floor coverings; garden products; kitchenware and housewares; kitchen and bath appliances; linens and bedding; and tabletop, dinnerware and servingware.
    * Personal Luxury Products, including luxury automobiles; luxury beauty, cosmetics and fragrance products; luxury apparel and fashion accessories; and luxury jewelry and/or watches.
    * Experiential Luxuries, such as luxury housekeeping services; travel; entertainment, restaurants, dining, theater; home decorators; landscape; and beauty spa, massage and beauty.

In addition to tracking purchases in these three broad categories of luxury, sponsors will also gather specific purchase information on their company's brand and their primary product category within the luxury market. For example, a luxury marketer that specializes in luxury handbags would get a report of consumer purchases of their specific product category and their company's primary brand or a luxury department store retailer would discover the percentage of affluent shoppers that have frequented their store in the past three months and shopped in competing luxury department stores. A key benefit of this survey will be for luxury marketers and retailers to track in real-time the impact of their brand advertising and marketing on luxury consumer awareness, attitude and purchase.

Included with each tracking survey will be additional survey questions to dig deeper into specific subjects of compelling interest to luxury marketers. For example, the market for self-actualization and the products and services that affluent consumers buy to achieve a deeper sense of self-actualization will be part of the first quarterly tracking study.

Sponsor Deliverables:

Each study sponsor will have their particular product category added to the quarterly tracking survey, as well as their primary brand in the branding section of the survey. In addition, sponsors will be able to add up to six separate customized questions into the tracking survey over the course of the year, either one question added to the four tracking studies or six questions added to one study for more in-depth investigation.

The affluent consumer tracking study will operate very much like an affluent omnibus survey, so sponsors will be able to tap into the affluent consumer panel for special questions and research studies as needed for an additional fee.

Sponsors will receive copies of the topline survey results for each quarterly study within one week of the survey fielding. In addition, sponsors will receive a quarterly analysis report summarizing the major findings of the research about three-to-four weeks after the study is fielded.

Sponsors will also receive the latest annual edition of the Luxury Market Report, 2003 - Who Buys Luxury, What They Buy, Why They Buy, and regular bi-monthly issues of the Luxury Business newsletter.

Initial sponsorship fee to participate in the quarterly tracking studies and receive the tracking reports, analysis studies, annual Luxury Market Report, 2003 and Luxury Business newsletter is $10,000.

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