Recently, Advertising Age highlighted Cadillac's recent commercial featuring French model Magali Amadei. In the spot, eager fathers look on as Amadei's character picks up her kids at school in the Cadillac SRX while clearly sporting work attire, as if she has just come from the office. The commercial is noteworthy, because even here in the 21st Century, women are rarely portrayed as dominant figures in advertising. This is something that brands might want to consider changing. As our country's population continues to evolve, whether it is due to the maturing of Millennials, new family dynamics, or a shift in nationalities, …

As our country's population continues to evolve, whether it is due to the maturing of Millennials, new family dynamics, or a shift in nationalities, the face of the wealthy American will continue to evolve, as well. This means that a shift in luxury product marketing strategy is inevitable.

As we explore how Affluents make media choices and purchase decisions, we are consistently struck by the importance of word-of-mouth and personal recommendations from others. In fact, across many of the categories we examined, recommendations from friends or family are consistently among the most frequently cited factors shaping marketplace decisions.

In 2014 when 80% of affluent customers prefer to do their research online and 47% prefer of buy products online, you'd think that luxury brands would be all over digital media. Not so. In fact, a surprising number of luxury brands still wary of digital media and online retail. They do so at their own peril.

What luxury brands do consumers talk most about? Which ones are the sexiest, most in vogue, best at brand promise, best at customer service, best social appeal, and best emotional appeal? We completed a study that answers these questions.

Recently my columns have focused on millionaire consumers, those with a personal net worth (total assets less total liabilities) of $1 million or more. The columns have generated some interesting feedback regarding the wealthy, who number about 20 million adults according to our projections based on Bureau of the Census estimates.