Richard Smith & Milena Castellnou

The meaning of ‘luxury’
MRS Conference
September 16th 2015
Richard Smith Director
Milena Castellnou Research Manager

J:Current JobsF+22109 Luxury ZMET study for MRS confReporting/MC RS 10.09.15
2
A dictionary definition of luxury
Pronunciation: /ˈlʌkʃ(ə)ri/
Definition of luxury in English:
noun (plural luxuries)
Mass Noun
An inessential, desirable item which is expensive or difficult to obtain: luxuries like chocolate, scent,
and fizzy wine
Count Noun
A pleasure obtained only rarely: they actually had the luxury of a whole day togetherIn Singular
Middle English (denoting lechery): from Old French luxurie, luxure, from Latin luxuria, from luxus
‘excess'. The earliest current sense dates from the mid 17th century.
Origin
A state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense: he lived a life of luxury

3
What would help us to understand luxury better?
We know what luxury looks like / what represents luxury : SO WHAT?
We wanted to know how consumers thought about luxury
• What does it mean to them?
• What does it give them?
• What thoughts, feelings and behaviours are associated with luxury?
• What frames and mental models do they have around luxury?
We wanted to know what luxury
‘means’

4
Principles of ZMET
1
95% of human thinking and emotion happens in the
subconscious – afterwards, decisions and attitudes are
rationalized but are they the true motivation?
2
Thought and emotion is a series of neural activations in the
form of images, not words – therefore research needs to go
beyond words in order to go deeper.
3
Metaphoric thinking is the basic mental process by which we
create meaning and make sense of the world. Metaphors can
open windows to the subconscious.
4
Emotion is critical to how we think, behave, and interpret our
world … and is intimately intertwined with reason. Metaphors
can uncover and explain our largely unconscious emotions.

6
Who did we speak to?
Younger
‘spare cash’
• Aged 25-40
• £75k+ household income and/or £75k+ liquid assets
• None with children
4
Middle-aged
‘spare cash’
• Aged 40-55
• At least 2 with dependent children
4
Wealthier /
Mass Affluent
• Aged 30-65
• All to be ‘sorted’ financially
• At least 2 with dependent children under 18
4

7
With that in mind, please find 3-5 pictures which express your thoughts and
feelings about luxury and the role of luxury in your life
We set a simple pre-task
Luxury is a hot topic at the moment. The V&A are currently running an exhibition
on luxury. Recently Channel 4 had a programme on what luxury meant to the
ancient Greeks.
It’s easy to think of the classic symbols of luxury; the things that represent luxury.
But what is the role of luxury in your life? What thoughts and feelings come to
mind?
Now, imagine you had to express these thoughts and feelings without using
words…and you had to do this using pictures instead.
• List of do’s and don’ts
• Invitation

8
Luxury is an experience not an adjective!
When people think about the meaning of
luxury and its role in their life they focus on:
• What luxury does for them
• The emotions that produces
So, when people buy a luxury product –
they are buying the outcome, not the
features
Outcome
Emotion
Attribute
Benefit

9
Luxury is relative and is correlated with contentment
• Direct connection or correlation between luxury and
wealth
• The unattainable; the yacht; the 10 star hotel; the
Steinway concert grand
• Still ‘hungry’ for luxury – perhaps postponing
current enjoyment
There is a spectrum of luxury, depending on
how contented people are with their lives:
• The little things in life that money cannot buy
• Something they have or is within their grasp
• Focus on how blessed they are / the luxuries they
experience

10
Amongst our target audience we found some key frames or ‘Deep
Metaphors’ for luxury
TIME
CONNECTION PERSONAL
EXPRESSION
CONTAINER:
FREEDOM / ESCAPE
PROTECTION
CONTAINER:
PROTECTION

11
Time is at the epicentre of the meaning of luxury
The most valuable resource of all
• Time for yourself
• Time that can be purchased
• The stress caused by lack of time
Time is relative when it comes to
luxury:
• BEFORE: The anticipation
• DURING: Time changes
−Goes slower for pleasurable
experiences
−Goes quicker for things that
might be dull
• AFTER: The memories linger

12
‘healthy’ luxury involves experiences which can be shared
“what you have in your life”
•Family and friends
• Gifts from others
• Sharing /gifting to others/ with
others
• Being able to own a pet / having
the time to look after it / have it
looked after for you
There is a yin /yang between:
• Luxury for ME
−But not necessarily –
sometimes pampering or
owning something special can
be OK
• SHARED luxury / gifted luxury
−Although sometimes sharing
can go as far as ‘showing off’

13
Luxury is freedom – but also safety and separation
Luxury strongly linked with FREEDOM
and ESCAPE
• FREEDOM to do whatever you
want to do
• ESCAPE from the normal / the
everyday
But luxury also linked with protection,
safety and insulation:
• COCOONED in your house / away
from the world
Luxury provides SEPARATION from
the crowd

14
Being able to express your own personality and identity
Displays of wealth sometimes
perceived as the darker side of luxury
So preference for:
• Understated luxury
• Authenticity
Expressing your own identity
• Making you feel superhuman

15
A framework for luxury, with Time at the centre
Time
Protection
Connection
Freedom /
Escape
Personal
Expression
You invest time in order to
build protection into your life
– which is then recognised
as a luxury
Connection
impacts on the
quality of the
time you spend
For much of your life, your time
is not your own in luxury it is
released
Products and experiences
that take time to make and
that carry memories and
therefore express the
impression you wish to
make on the world

16
How do these ideas interconnect in the ‘shared mind’
Consensus mapping illustrates a simplified
neural network for the topic
How does one ‘bit’ of luxury connect
with all of the other bits?
Outcome
Emotion
Attribute
Benefit
Identity

17
Time is one of the most important themes and directly feeds into a
sense of control and achievement
Personal
services
Free
time
Choices
In
control
Achieve Being able to buy time, to have
additional time.
.... I suppose it gives you a feeling of
power, which is that you've got
choices that most people don't have.
“
“

18
The choices that a luxurious lifestyle offers also have a strong impact on
the sense of control over one’s life
You feel quite grown up; quite mature.
Because it's an every day functional
thing it's really important. Every day
when you're going through your
wardrobe you feel really nice and
organised. You feel together.
Expensive
/brands
Choices
In
control
Achieve
Finely
created
Bespoke Beautiful
/classic
“
“

19
Free time is also crucial to be able share experiences with loved ones
and create strong connections
Peak
experience
Free
time
Sharing
Connection
/ love
To me, luxury is more what you have in your
life rather than what you can buy in your life.
… you know that you're better for it
as a person because you know
what really matters, what's really
important…..it's that thing of
making time to spend with family
and getting your priorities right.
“
“
“ “

20
Experiences allow individuals to escape their routine, relax and be
themselves
Peak
experience
Nature/
quiet
Escape
Me time
Recharged
/ at peace
Freedom
to be me
Anticipation
I like to go fairly unencumbered, and to me it's a
pleasure to leave all my belongings and all my
woes and stresses at home and then just go
and see how other people live.
…the luxury of feeling
pampered ...You feel
uplifted, energised, relaxed,
….it's just a joy. It's it's very
easy to forget things or
switch off
“
“
“
“

21
The experience continues in memories and reinforces existing
connections
The pictures do hold parts
of my life that I've
experienced and I wouldn't
want to lose that. I like
having memories
triggered, invoked and I'm
not sure whether or not that
would occur with as much
frequency.
To have that moment where
everybody in your family,
everybody that you care
about where everybody is
completely content that is
quite an achievement. I
actually return to memories
like that and they're very
precious.
“
“
“
“
Beautiful
/classic
Nostalgia
Connection
/ love
Finely
created
Peak
experience

22
The emotional implications of gift giving should not be overlooked
Privilege
Freedom
to be me
Gifts
Being a
provider
Giving /
Treating
others
Unexpected
I feel very privileged that
she only gets four people
to put on her
concessions and I'm one
of them. A) it proves that
I'm a very close friend of
hers. B) I am extremely
grateful …. It's sort of a
sense of excitement
I have got the ability to affect other people in the
same way, so they feel like that as well …So whilst
I've achieved luxury I am creating luxury for
people that matter to me.
“
“
“
“

23
Exclusivity is multidimensional: it creates an impression of safety and is
also seen as a privilege that allows individuals to be themselves
Peak
experiencePrivate
clubs
Exclusive
Separation
from others
Protected
Privilege
Freedom
to be me
It feels a bit exclusive. It's a good
crowd in there. it's just nice, working
in a place in Covent Garden, to have
somewhere that's a bit of a
sanctuary.
“
“

24
Private
clubs
Expensive
/brands
Exclusive
Impress
Feeling
superior
Exclusivity also has an external dimension: it is a way to impress people
and feel superior to the crowds
An element of a feeling of success and
achievement, because you're
associated or you can get access to a
certain club ... if I had an outward feeling
of success it would be inviting friends, or
family or something like that, but
mainly friends, to the club for
entertaining.
I think that the way human
beings operate is that it offers a
sense of, 'I have something that
you don't', a sense of one-
upmanship, a sense of, 'I'm
doing better than you are'.
“
“
“
“

25
Personal indulgences through shopping can occasionally leave a feeling
of guilt
Expensive
/brands
Indulgence
Guilt
If I found myself suddenly buying those things
for myself it wouldn't feel like me. If I then got
pleasure out if it, well, then I'd feel slightly guilty
for it. It would seem a betrayal of myself … I
would feel I'd taken away from giving things to
my children or something.
“
“

26
Personal
services
Peak
experience
Private
clubs
Expensive
/brands
Nature/
quietExclusive
Free time
Beautiful/
classic
Nostalgia
Escape
Separation
from others
Impress
Choices
Me time
Sharing
Connection
/ love
Recharged
/ at peace
Protected
In control
Privilege
Feeling
superior
Freedom
to be me
Achieve
Finely
created
Bespoke
Gifts
Giving /
Treating
others
Being a
provider
Unexpected
Anticipation
Indulgence
Guilt
Attributes
Functional outcomes
Psychosocial outcomes
Emotional outcomes
Identity experiences
For a luxury brand or service:
• In which territory do you want to play?
• What would you want to add?
• What would you want to change?
• What would you want to reinforce?

27
Final thoughts
For this target audience; mass affluent working folk with some money…
Luxury is an experience, not a luxury
- when you’re selling a luxury ‘X’ - focus on the benefits of X
Luxury can be aspirational, but not always - sometimes it’s the things you have as much as the things you
want or can be bought
Time is at the epicentre of luxury - the most valuable finite resource in human experience
Space and separation are also important, both in terms of exclusivity and a sense of safety; protection;
feeling cocooned
Sharing and gifting luxury takes away any negative sense of indulgence, selfishness or display
In positioning overtly luxurious goods, the benefits should not be solely positioned as indulgent or status
driven; if you allow the angel and the devil to ‘come to an arrangement’ within the mind of your target
consumer, you have much more chance of success!

28
For further information
www.bdrc-continental.com
+44 (0) 20 7400 1018
+44 (0) 7875 549065
richard.smith@bdrc-continental.com
Richard Smith
Director
Follow us on:
+44 (0) 20 7400 0398
milena.castellnou@bdrc-continental.com
www.linkedin.com/company/bdrc-continental
Milena Castellnou
Research Manager

Richard Smith & Milena Castellnou

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

En vedette

En vedette (8)

Similaire à Richard Smith & Milena Castellnou

Similaire à Richard Smith & Milena Castellnou (20)

Plus de MRS

Plus de MRS (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Richard Smith & Milena Castellnou