Ron Kurtz is a retired C-level executive with experience in the cruise, hospitality, and airline industries. He was the founder of The American Affluence Research Center, which specialized in market surveys and mailing lists of the truly affluent.
Established in 2001 and with an exclusive focus on the affluent market for almost 20 years, the American Affluence Research Center was a recognized authority and a credible source of reliable insight and marketing information about the values, lifestyles, attitudes, and purchasing behavior of America's most wealthy consumers.
Ron has held the positions of president and chief marketing officer of companies in the cruise and resort industries. He earned an MBA from The Harvard Graduate School of Business and a BBA from The University of Texas.
Ron was a frequent writer for trade publications and speaker at industry functions and was the author of the book Market Research: Strategy and Techniques, published by the American Management Association.
- Mail Surveys Are Good Source Of Essential Research in
Engage:Affluent on
03/16/2015
In part 1 of this series, we looked at big data and how it is the focus of much content in business and marketing media. There is no question that big data can be very useful, but big data can only
provide a portion of the research that marketers of high end products need in order to understand and effectively market to the affluent and luxury consumers.
- Research Data Needed To Understand Target Market in
Engage:Affluent on
02/11/2015
Marketers are inundated with data of all sorts from many different sources. It is vital to have a clear vision of what data is really needed to design an effective marketing strategy and plan. And
then one must be careful to find an accurate and reliable source of the data that is considered essential.
- FDA Commissioner Resigns Over Fruit-Flavored Vape Marketing
by
Tanya Gazdik
(Marketing Daily - Top of the News on
05/14/2026)
I am glad someone in the Trump administration has some scruples and common sense. Too bad he was pushed out.
- Luxury's Reset: Less Chaos, More Clarity
by
Sarah Mahoney
(Marketing Daily on
03/19/2026)
Was surprised to see Ms. Thomas's statement that "many people are considered high net worth because of income". There is ample research showing that net worth is a much more stable indicator of wealth than income, for reasons she noted. Net worth is a much more reliable indicator of who can be true luxury consumers. As she noted. 2% of luxury consumers accout for half of all global spending.
- 'Pittsburgh Post-Gazette' Gone: Paper Will Officially Close In May
by
Ray Schultz
(Publishing Insider on
03/08/2026)
Sorry to see big city papers close. It happened in my city (Atlanta) at the first of the year. It is a challenging news environment with the various immediate sources on the internet and a population with a declining interest in "real news" and print. Seems the papers could do a better job in defining their market and the product the market would support.
- Trump Said Noem Lied About $220M Ad Campaign
by
Tanya Gazdik
(Marketing Daily - Top of the News on
03/05/2026)
Given how Trump rules his cabinet with an iron hand, does anyone believe even Noem was dumb enough to launch those commercials without checking with the white house first?
- In Marketing We Trust: Kraft Heinz CEO Makes $600 Million Bet
by
Sarah Mahoney
(CPG Insider on
02/13/2026)
Cahillane should be respected for having the courage to challenge conventional wisdom. With an increasoing proportion of consumers facing hard choices in balancing their cost of living, brand marketing is likely to have much lower impact than cost and value considerations. Wish him luck.
- Amazon Spends $35M To Promote 'Melania'
by
Tanya Gazdik
(Marketing Daily - Top of the News on
01/29/2026)
As an Amazon shareholder, I would like Bezos to personally refund to the company all the money it has wasted on this obviously futile project.
- What Authoritarianism Gets Wrong
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
01/27/2026)
I wish/hope you are right. A population of people tends to unite (especially if it has good leadership) when they are threatened by a common natural disaster or enemy (per your London example and what we see in Ukraine today). Our current situation is different, because the authoritarianism is not seen as a common threat that unites all Americans. Many Americans (including many GOP leaders) are, regretably, not bothered by the actions of Trump, who is well known to have run his business as an absolute authoritarian and, given his attributes of "malignant narcissism", wants to do the same with our government.
- Travel Industry Revelation: Taking Customer Experience To The Next Level
by
Jeriad Zoghby
(Marketing Insider on
12/14/2017)
No problem. Thanks for acknowledging my comment.
- The Rising Risks Of DEI Gone Dark
by
Sarah Mahoney
(Marketing Daily on
10/20/2025)
Wonder if the black and brown people (and various other minority communities) are still happy they voted for Trump. It is scary to see how major corporations have been intimidated by Trump (and his hatchet man Stephen Miller).
- Brand USA Launches 'America The Beautiful' Amid Decline In Inbound Tourism
by
Danielle Oster
(Marketing Daily on
10/20/2025)
Another detrimental consequence of Trumps' betrayal of many of the people who voted for him. Assume the victims of this clever con man are now having buyer's remorse.