So off I went to NYC tonight for an ISES (The International Special Event Society, http://www.isesnyc.com/) meeting featuring four very interesting speakers. The topic of the event was entitled "How Luxury Brands Use Special Events in This Challenging Economy."
The premise of the program was about how even the most affluent customers are now slower to spend and need "a reason to shop." Many brands are using special events to achieve the 'wow' factor with best customers.
I was really hoping to find out why MY higher end clients aren't buying. Well, they aren't buying most likely because of what I already knew and what they termed tonight "Luxury Shame." Quite simply upper class clients still HAVE money to spend. The problem today is though they still have the money, the appearance of celebrating is wrong for our times right now.
At work or at play, you just can't show the slightest bit of extravagance. Well, you can't let others see the extravagance. The upper class is still buying cars (so said the Director of Marketing for Bentley Motors), flying in private jets (according to the Blue Star Jet CEO) and drinking fancy champagne (as told by the Moët Hennessy USA Director of National Events who was just back from the Oscars as her company sponsored many of the events Post-Oscar night).
What seems to be working for the luxury clients are small private events. House parties, intimate restaurant gatherings; just doing things under the radar seems to be the best way to celebrate. Also important is connecting to a charity at more visible events makes for a good "hook" or a good reason to celebrate. This helps define ROI for companies.
How does this help me (http://www.lotparty.com/) or all of us sell balloons? Well, I'm still not sure, except to say balloons will save a client money, add value to an event with little cost and, in the end, help the almighty ROI numbers soar with all the money one could save by using balloons.
