In the days after the Costa Concordia disaster, we have begun to see more cruise line advertising in more mainstream media, at least anecdotally. Companies such as Norwegian Cruise Lines appear to have added special offers to their TV placements in the hopes of counteracting the disaster. It is also possible that cruise lines’ media strategies have not changed significantly after the disaster but that consumers such as us are more aware of cruise line ads, thereby actually increasing their effectiveness.[...]

In the book “Peak,” Chip Conley, Founder and CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, presents an overview of his career focusing on the success, downturn, and revitalization that his company underwent amidst the economic downturn in the post-dot.com and post-9/11 economy. As the upscale business he worked so hard to build began to crumble, Conley referred to the writings of psychologist Abraham Maslow for inspiration. Using Maslow’s theory of the Hierarchy of Needs, Conley took the key points to stimulate an environment of self-actualization that encouraged peak experiences in order to keep his business flourishing[...]

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6961" title="Luminosity values – intro" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Luminosity-values-intro.jpg" alt="" width="729" height="128" />
<p style="text-align: left;">As Luminosity looks towards the new year and starts our annual goal setting process, we decided to reestablish our company values. Here are the values we decided upon for our company:<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=6939">[...]</a>

ComScore reported recently that online holiday shopping increased by 15% versus last year (nearly $35.3 billion had been spent online for the 2011 holiday season) indicating consumers are becoming even more comfortable conducting business online. This is likely a result of increased consumer convenience as well as marketing strategies such as special offers, free shipping with minimum purchase, and the advent of rebate sites like ebates.com and fatwallet.com. The comScore report is based on the most current holiday season, but this trend speaks to how overall consumer shopping and spending is shifting towards e-commerce.

Does this mean all businesses should move to conduct their business transactions online?[...]

As the new year is fast approaching, let’s review the top stories that our avid readers have enjoyed over the past year. Check out some of our top blog posts and hottest white papers.

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Using Competitive Analysis to Understand the Prospective Student’s View of Your Institution
Today’s universities often need an outside consultant to help identify and craft a clear target audience definition and
marketing direction. This case study gives you an inside look at how our competitive
intelligence drove growth for the New York Institute of Technology M.B.A program in Vancouver…[...]

<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-6828" title="Blog 2" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Blog-22.png" alt="" width="339" height="298" />Recent reports have shown that affluents are spending more and more time online, especially on social media sites. In the last year, Facebook usage among affluents has seen an increase of over <a href="http://www.millionairecorner.com/article/across-wealth-levels-social-media-usage-rise" target="_blank">20 percent</a>. What's even more interesting is what affluents are doing online. They are <a href="http://luxurysociety.com/articles/2011/11/affluent-consumers-and-how-they-use-the-internet-social-media-and-mobile-devices" target="_blank">turning to</a> the Internet to "investigate brands, form connections and make purchases." <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/158831/" target="_blank">Recent reports</a> have also found that these affluents are becoming more influenced by social media when purchasing luxury items. Of individuals with assets of $1 million or more, affluents said that comments and information on social media sites influenced which retail stores they visit (56 percent), what designer brands they buy (57 percent), and what websites they visit (59 percent). This is good news for luxury marketers. Not only will they be able to zero-in on affluent audiences on Facebook and other social media sites, but they can affect their friends and family too.

According to a recent Mendelsohn <a href="http://adage.com/article/adagestat/affluency-definitions-luxury/231388/" target="_blank">study</a> of affluents with an annual income of<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=6812">[...]</a>

<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-6756" title="Chasing cool" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Chasing-cool2.jpg" alt="" width="187" height="269" />In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Cool-Standing-Cluttered-Marketplace/dp/0743497090" target="_blank"><em>Chasing Cool: Standing Out in Today’s Cluttered Marketplace</em></a>, Noah Kerner and Gene Pressman address one central question that many companies seek to answer: “How do we make this <em>thing</em> cool?” Their answer is not a blueprint for how a company can be successful and become the next <a href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank">Apple</a> or <a href="http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nike/en_US/?ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26ved%3D0CFQQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.nike.com%252F%26ei%3D6DDeTvu9DYrY0QG47YiuBw%26usg%3DAFQjCNFfu6fEgeWQlHU5XPqvVX1nIV4b6w%26sig2%3DY0pRiN1fTbZXPAgwPalELw" target="_blank">Nike</a>. Rather, they suggest that being cool consists of following one’s gut, listening to one’s instincts, and not trying to mock what others have done. Trying to follow somebody else’s path to success is not a good tactic for achieving success. As Martin Puris says in the book<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=6753">[...]</a>

Oops. I spent too much money on clothes again. I’m a budget-er in training. I (and I would assume many others) realize that my dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to, which means I either need to take on a second job, make the money I currently have work harder, or use my current income smarter. Given that I work in advertising, I’m not sure I’d be able to fit another job into my schedule and since I don’t have much money yet to work hard for me, I’ve decided that I need to use my current income smarter. Thankfully, I’ve discovered that there are numerous financial tools available to help me in my goal (tools to manage my credit card, my checking account, loans or all of the above) and almost all of them can be accessed through my mobile phone (which I love).

There are quite a few financial tools to choose from. Some tools that I really like are[...]

<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-6764" title="Holiday" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Holiday.jpg" alt="" width="486" height="275" />As Black Friday has now passed us by, many consumers can sigh in relief that they have most of their holiday shopping list crossed out or don’t have to deal with this crazy holiday tradition for another year. Yet, many marketers are sighing in relief because this Black Friday brought better than expected sales numbers and profits. <a href="http://adage.com/article/news/brisk-post-thanksgiving-sales-tough-maintain/231213/" target="_blank">U.S. consumers</a>, through the web and physical stores, spent a record $52.4 billion during the Thanksgiving weekend. Not only was a record sales amount reached this holiday, but more people went shopping than last year and they spent more on average. About 226 million people went shopping this Thanksgiving weekend, up from 212 million last year, and these shoppers spent an average of $399, also up from $365 last year. Yet, with these high sales numbers one has to ask if retailers will be able to keep these sales up during the rest of the holiday season?

Consumers were obviously out in full-force for the shopping offered during this Thanksgiving holiday. But did they actually enjoy their shopping experience and would they be willing to do it again?<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=6742">[...]</a>

Nick Swinmurn, founder of Zappos.com and clothing brand Dethrone, has started his newest venture, RNKD (pronounced ranked). RNKD is a new kind of online loyalty program which enables consumers to earn rewards on the clothing and accessories they already own. Users simply upload pictures of the products they already have in their closets and then begin to receive rewards directly from brands. With RNKD, users get recognition and lucrative deals for being loyal customers.

Swinmurn thought of the idea for RNKD after leaving Zappos and starting his own clothing brand, Dethrone. The issue he faced, however, was the difficulty of connecting with and understanding his customers. His solution[...]