Communicating luxury to the masses

Using the fast-growing, affluent masses of India as an example, Shaziya Khan, vice president and strategic planning director at JWT, addresses the paradox of how to market 'exclusive', luxury brands (seen to be used only by a few) to mass markets, without losing their prestige and elite image.

Communicating luxury to the masses

Shaziya Khan

We all know luxury markets are taking off. In mass and developing markets like India, luxury brands are growing volumes and there is promise of more. As a result, in marketing and advertising meetings, there is an emerging debate (one that will soon become global): how to communicate luxury brand messages to the mass consumer.

The question is a puzzling one. It gets fiercely argued by opposing schools of thought. Do we 'downgrade' communication to address the mass consumer but risk losing some of the mystique and aura of luxury; or do we...

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