During an age in which endless information is readily available at consumers' fingertips, it is more important than ever to highlight your brand's value - even in the eyes of the affluent. According to a recent study by Unity Marketing, about 75% of wealthy consumers plan to make apparel purchases in the next year. However, the way they evaluate their purchases may surprise you.

As unemployment fears ease, Affluents are increasingly "rising up" the hierarchy of needs, and bringing a new mindset to the marketplace.

Luxury goods. Luxury travel. Luxury apartments. An idea is brought to mind of something special, timeless, exclusive. Something that is not for everyone. But those that can, will.

You don't need to consult the leading voices in the digital advertising industry to know that programmatic ad buying has altered the way forward-thinking brands find and engage new audiences at scale. Programmatic has proven to be a tremendous asset for brands to find their target audiences, wherever they happen to be on the web.

In last month's column, "Targeting In 2014: High Income or High Net Worth?," I highlighted some differences in the size of the "upscale" market depending on whether a marketer targets by household income (there are about 7 million adult consumers with very high incomes or cash flows - $250,000 or more in household income - as of 2013 according to the U.S Census Bureau) or by net worth (the estimated number of millionaires is approximately 20 million according to our survey).