Targeting affluents? Want to know what they are buying and where they are buying it? Well, to no surprise, they are online and love their devices. However, are they buying online and paying attention to your brand?

The wealthy consumer is coveted by luxury and non-luxury brands alike. However, it is important to remember that marketing to the wealthy isn't as simple as pushing a brand message - regardless of the channel. Brands must align themselves with affluent values, which can sometimes be prioritized differently than those of other consumers.

One of the most profound changes in the Affluent marketplace has been their rapid adoption of mobile devices. Over the past two years, tablet ownership among Affluents ($100K+ in annual household income) rose from 9% to 41%, while smartphone ownership rose from 45% to 63%. These figures are even higher if we examine household (rather than personal) ownership, with smartphones being in 84% of Affluent households, and tablets in 68%. Ownership skews higher among younger Affluents, as well as Ultra Affluents ($250K+ HHI) and Wealthy ($500K+ HHI) consumers. Interestingly, ownership of both devices is slightly higher among women than among …

Today's consumers expect brands to share stories, legacy and fantasy - not just product information and promotions. Social media provides a way for brands to do this: connect to their customers' own lives and desires through the use of this personalized medium.

Whether we're looking to solve a marketing challenge or developing breathtaking creative, we frequently forget to look at the unpretentious solution. We've got internal and external stakeholders telling us that simple isn't sexy enough, isn't exciting enough, isn't deep enough. Our concepts and communications will seem unworldly to our sophisticated audience. In the meantime, our perfect customers are subjected to more products being marketed to them in more channels than ever before. It's a complex world out there. Why can't we keep things simple?

Luxury marketers define their targets in many different ways. To gain insights into the differences among high-income adults in key age brackets, a recent Shullman Pulse profiled three generations: Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers. In this review, these segments are shown two ways-- within two household-income segments: $75,000 or more, representing 39 percent of all U.S. adults, and $250,000 or more, representing 3 percent of all U.S. adults as well as compared to average American adults (All Adults in the exhibits). Our special focus is upscale Millennials.