The idea of a brand having a purpose isn't new. All brands have always had one, but today, that word means something much different to consumers. Today, purpose is more about what the brand stands for than it is about why it exists. Yes, consumers want to know the brand, buy from the brand and talk about the brand, but they ultimately will only stand up for the brand if they believe it has a meaningful purpose.

The luxury industry is at a tipping point. Both Euromonitor and Deloitte, global firms that study the luxury market, testify to it. They predict growth slowing in the global luxury market, with particular weakness in the Western Europe and North America.

In a recent report by BNP Paribas, "The Shopping Guide: Bloggers in China," fashion bloggers are said to "have filled a void on the internet ahead of luxury/fashion brands and publishers" in educating Chinese consumers about different global brands. That the rise of fashion bloggers and the development of the Chinese luxury market happened in tandem is no coincidence. The influx of rapid change has meant certain individual consumers have positioned themselves as experts in introducing new luxury items to the rest of the market.

One of the oldest industries in the world is poised to pave the way forward for one of our newest technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT). Luxury hotels could be the frontier that finally moves the vision of IoT fully connected living from CES displays to real life. Frankly, given all the efficiency and cost saving advantages the IoT could bring the hospitality industry, it's almost surprising it hasn't happened yet. (McKinsey finds that IoT hype actually understates the full potential.) So it seems appropriate now to take a moment to imagine how we should communicate this revolution to the …

While TV has long been a fantastic way to deliver messaging to a wide audience, marketers have recently been attracted to new methods that allow them to use the deeply engaging medium in a more targeted fashion. Delivering TV ads to highly specific audiences by leveraging data is something of a holy grail for marketers, and can help them reduce the waste that comes with typically massive scale buys.

This month's column follows up on comments we received from readers of last month's column, "Luxury, In The Words Of Today's 3 Major Generations," which focused on the differences in how Millennials, Gen-Xers, and Boomers describe luxury in response to the following question: "When you read, see, or hear the word luxury, please describe briefly what you think about." This month we focus on descriptions of luxury among the following two segments of consumers based on their spending power.