Summary
The nature of luxury is constantly changing and this makes it difficult to formulate a universal definition of luxury brands. The current paper aims to enrich the understanding of luxury brand meaning from a consumer perspective. In particular, this paper investigates consumers’ perceptions of luxury brands based on the extent to which they associate various attributes to luxury brands. A large-scale survey in the Flemish part of Belgium reveals three facets of luxury brand meaning: an expressive facet that refers to the exclusivity of luxury brands, an impressive-functional facet that refers to premium quality and an impressive-emotional facet that refers to extraordinary aesthetic aspects. In addition, the current study distinguishes three consumer segments (i.e. impressive, expressive and mixed segment) that differ from each other for the importance they attach to these facets of luxury brand meaning. The impressive segment associates luxury brand meaning with both impressive-functional and impressive-emotional facets, while the expressive segment associates luxury brand meaning with the expressive facet, rather than with impressive facets. The third segment, mixed group, thinks both expressive and impressive facets of luxury brand meaning need to be present before a brand can be categorised as luxury brand. In addition, the current study extends previous segmentations by providing a detailed profile of the segments. In particular, this study shows that the views are differentially related to both individual difference variables and various aspects of individual well-being (i.e. self-esteem and negative affect).

Summary
This overview of the technology market looks at the growing field of 'wearable technology', which has been estimated to generate $800m in revenue in 2013 and worth $6bn by 2015. The article highlights some of the impending developments including the Pebble smart watch, which raised a record amount on funding site, Kickstarter, in 2012; a portable fertility monitor from Cambridge Temperature Concepts; and Armour39, an athletic performance monitoring system. However, there are concerns from privacy advocates about the safety of data generated from mobile devices. Expected trends include the renaissance of watches as accessories, an increasing importance on style as functionality becomes standardised and everyday objects will be retrofitted with technology to allow them to interact with software.

Summary
This article charts the history of the luxury automobile sector in India and highlights what Indian luxury consumers look for in a car purchase. They are not just attracted by the enhanced driving experience offered by luxury marques; additional features such as comfort, style, power and a sense of exclusivity are important. The luxurious German brands - Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW - offer a sense of investment, and hence do well in the Indian market. Major trends include the focus of automotive marketers on smaller cities alongside large, and the fact that Indian consumers adopt international customs rapidly. Due to the youth and technological-savvy of many luxury car buyers in India, digital and social are important strands of typical marketing strategies. Other popular channels include events, training sessions and private parties in order to get customers acquainted with the brand.

Summary
This report covers Unilever's approach to translating consumer insights into product innovation in a tough economic climate, illustrated by two brand examples: its Degree deodorant and Magnum Infinity ice cream bar. With consumers spending less, the company worked with a famous fragrance expert to develop a ‘fine-fragrance’ variant of Degree as an affordable luxury. Similarly, it tapped into the stay-at-home ('cocooning') trend by introducing its Magnum Infinity ice cream bar. Smaller-sized packaging positioned the brand as less of an excess than the main Magnum brand, yet it retained is luxury positioning.

Summary
A report focusing on presentations at the Asia Consumer Summit in Singapore that covered the luxury market. Key insights emerging from the presentations include: that Asia (and China in particular) is now the world's key luxury market; that cultural quirks between nations should separate the markets and influence brand strategy; and that luxury brands selling in Asia should be using digital as part of their marketing channel repertoire. Brands presenting at the event, and cited in the report, include BMW and Moët Hennessy.

Summary
This report, from the ‘Market to Watch: Building Brands Beyond Tier One in China’ conference, discusses the successful strategies of Volkswagen, the automaker, and Tiffany, the jewellery brand, for expanding their sales into lower-tier Chinese cities. Volkswagen partly attributed the success of its Phaeton luxury sedan to the tendency for "understated" luxury by wealthy Chinese consumers in lower-tier cities. Equally, its Phaeton lounges - a space where customers are invited to visit and bring their friends and family to learn about the car and customise their own vehicle - had been successful marketing tool across the country. Volkswagen shared ‘five truths’: go at the pace of the market; have an on-the-ground presence; find ways to accommodate consumers and their families; lower-tier consumers love innovation; and they like to take time over purchases. Tiffany takes a similarly bespoke approach, including hosting events for guests to experience the brand and learn its history.

Summary
Luxury brands are thriving as consumers save their money for special items. In this article Nick Cooper, Managing Director of Millward Brown Optimor Europe, explains which brand strategies work best. Emerging trends demonstrate that the decline of the euro has made European luxury brands more affordable; moving into digital has created interest and accessibility; growth in products for men are outpacing the larger female market; and heritage and craftsmanship is being leveraged more explicitly. The core conundrum remains constant: luxury brands must achieve the right balance between protecting exclusivity and making the brand experience accessible to a wider audience but five clear themes are emerging for luxury strategy in the current climate.

Summary
A Warc Industry Trends Snapshot of the meta-luxury market. The widespread and indiscriminate use of the term 'luxury' has rendered it almost meaningless, so the term meta-luxury has been coined to describe the top tier of true luxury goods. Demand for these will surely rise as the number of centa-millionaires (those with over $100m in assets) is predicted to grow by a third between 2011 and 2016. This Snapshot also includes the trend's implications for brands and examples of brands ahead of the curve.

Summary
Luxury as a term to describe brands has been rendered meaningless by the depredations of copywriters, devalued by indiscriminate usage and the deployment of various superlatives, such as 'hyper', 'super' or 'ultra', not to mention the oxymoronic 'accessible luxury'. The authors propose the notion of meta-luxury, luxury beyond luxury, to apply to brands that stand for unsurpassed excellence, brands for which authenticity, sustainability, innovation and talent are the principles by which they operate rather than part of an advertising spiel.

Summary
At the Pitch CMO Summit 2011, speakers detailed where they had found opportunity in the Indian market, and mapped out a few ways forward for brands looking to expand their presence in the country. These included Antonio Helio Waszyk of Nestlé, who suggested that the Indian consumer today is guided by value, rather than pure cost. Srinivas Murthy from Coca-Cola looked at the youth market; while Christian Saffer of BMW considered how to build consistency as a luxury brand. Elkana Ezekiel from Samsung discussed the rising middle class and how smartphones cater to their needs. Examples of marketing are drawn from Maggi, Nescafe and Sprite.