In a tough economy, luxury is not out of reach!

The class discussion on brands trying to move upscale or downscale either unintentionally or intentionally prompted me to look for some recent ads based on this concept. In a tough economy like this, luxury brands are finding it more difficult to attract new consumers, whose lower disposable income means that they cannot afford to shell out a few thousand dollars extra just for a "brand".

Luxury brands like Land Rover and Lexus have been status symbols for a long time, even outside the United States. The fact that someone drives a Lexus is interpreted as if that person has "arrived" in life. The following ad shows how newbie Hyundai tries to capitalize on the recession and lure a potential luxury car consumer to buy a Hyundai, thereby elevating its status.



The ad shows how the Hyundai car beats the Land Rover in all functional aspects, except in the number of cup holders, insinuating that customers are paying thousands of dollars more on the Land Rover, just for the cup holders. The final shot also shows the Santa Fe in the foreground, with the camera rotating to hide the blurry Land Rover in the background.

A similar tactic is used by General Motors to renew consumer interest in its Buick brand (which suffered a big hit due to the Tiger Woods fiasco), by trying to assert its superiority over the Lexus.



GM follows a slightly different tactic compared to Hyundai. Instead of poking fun at its competitor, GM urges the consumer to take a look at both cars and compare the experience. This might be intended to make the consumer think twice about paying the extra dollars for something that is similar in many aspects.

How can marketers use this?

The idea of common brands competing against luxury brands applies to other products and services too. For example, going to the salon is perceived as a luxury, which people will cut down on with a decrease in disposable income. Unilever's Suave brand of hair products has successfully made this switch from being a discount store brand to a luxury brand, by tapping this need for a premium hair care product, at a low price. It used several promotion strategies to achieve this status. The "Suave Professionals" line of products cost a fraction of popular designer brands used in salons and used celebrities and hair designer to change people's perception of the brand over time.



Sales for the brand have increased dramatically thanks to this focused strategy. It also made use of the need for aspirational consumption by consumers hit by the recession. Seeing a celebrity use a particular brand changes the consumer's perception of the brand.