Wealthiest 10% of Americans Name Top Quality Brands for 8 Products in New Survey

The seventh in a continuing series of twice-yearly surveys by The American Affluence Research Center (AARC) reveals the brands considered to have the highest quality, regardless of price, by the wealthiest 10% of Americans, the 11 million households representing about half of all consumer income and spending, a third of the total US economy, and 70% of the personal wealth of Americans.

Just released, the AARC report, The Luxury Market: Spring 2005 Survey of Affluent Americans, shows the affluent named Rolex, Cartier, and Tag Heuer as the top three brands for quality, regardless of price, for lady's fine watches. For lady's fine jewelry, Tiffany, Cartier, and David Yurman were the top three brands. For man's fine watches, Rolex, Tag Heuer, and Seiko were the top three brands.

For automobiles, Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus were at the top. For major home appliances, the affluent named General Electric, Sub-Zero, and Viking most frequently. In home entertainment equipment, Sony was dominant and no came close. In the cruise line category, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, and Princess were named more often than the luxury brands.

Some slight differences in the rankings were evident by gender, age, and level of wealth. These differences tended to favor the less frequently named brands.

The one category where men and women differed most significantly was in lady's designer/couture apparel. The women named Ralph Lauren, Armani, and Jones of New York as their top three brands. The men placed St. Johns and Chanel at the top of their list.

This information is based on a national survey of 346 men and women in the wealthiest 10% of American households. The survey participants have an average income of $369,000 and an average net worth of $2.7 million.

Ron Kurtz is a principal of The American Affluence Research Center and The Management Resource Group. Both companies provide marketing research and strategic planning services to prominent clients in the travel and hospitality industries, especially those targeting the affluent market.

Prior to founding MRG in 1989, Ron's experience included over 20 years in senior management positions in the airline, hotel, and tour business. As the founding President of Sea Goddess Cruises, he created the product category of small deluxe ships for the very affluent. He also served as the chief marketing officer of four cruise lines, including Norwegian Cruise Line and Windstar Cruises.

Ron has been a key contributor to 6 start ups and 11 turnarounds of substantial businesses. He earned his MBA at Harvard Business School.

For further information: http://www.affluenceresearch.org and http://www.mrgconsultants.com

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Branding Information:

Related Articles

Internet Branding
Having been in the franchising business all my life and understanding how hard it is to build a brand, I have probably read every other popular book on the subject. Some are good and most are excellent, as each one helps give you ideas on setting the stage for your brand marketing objectives.
What the Heck is Branding and Why Should I Care?
There's been a lot of buzz lately about branding. But what exactly is it, and who needs to do it? Simply put, a brand is what makes your business uniquely YOU! It's the way you present your business and how the world perceives it.
Branding: You are the Brand
What's in a brand name? Everything! Think of these brands: Coke, Barbie, Hershey, McDonalds, Madonna, Pepsi, Bono, Microsoft, Kleenex, Xerox, Steven Spielberg, Dell and GM. Did you notice that brands can be things, replicas of people and actual people? Brands are the public perception of a thing or person.
Don't Get Caught In the Trap: The BIG Difference Between Personal and Business Branding
When you're all alone in the privacy of your home office, surrounded by your computer, your phone and your business idea, have you ever asked yourself, "Where's the line between me in my business and the business in me"?With hundreds of thousands of home-based businesses starting every year, and few ever flourishing, the topic of branding has become hot, hot, hot. And thanks to experts touting the need for a personal brand in sole proprietor businesses the confusion is growing.
You Bored Me at Hello - Top Three Strategies for Networking Your Brand
"You had me at hello," those famous words from the movie Jerry McGuire let Tom Cruise know that Rene Zellweger's character was hooked from that point and the rest of his talking was unnecessary. When in networking situations, many small business owners leave people with a slightly different feeling.
Trademark Issues in the Mobil Auto Business
There have always been trademark issues and lawsuits in the mobile auto service business. I know this because I own several such businesses.
Brand Components
Your brand is the culmination of everything about you and your business. It is how people come to know you.
The Aim of the Name
Large corporations spend lavish amounts seeking names for their products that grab a consumer, or convey positive feelings. Book authors do the same.
Id Buy That: Getting A Brand Mindset
Feel that? The crisp tingle in the air? It's fall. Fall ushers in the promise of eating, seeing, and getting.
Tips for Creating Brilliant Business Names
Imagine if Yahoo! had been named TheInternetDirectoy. Or StarBucks was christened "Premier Coffees".
Importance of Branding - Whats in a Name?
Branding is perhaps the most important facet of any business--beyond product, distribution, pricing, or location. A company's brand is its definition in the world, the name that identifies it to itself and the marketplace.
Branding Guru - Brand Identity Guru
Branding TodayHave you ever had a good brand experience? How about a bad brand experience? Is there a difference in your mind? How many people do you tell about a positive brand experience? How about for a poor brand experience?One poor brand experience will not destroy a firm. One poor brand experience per day, however, can ruin a company in the long run for sure.
Branding Advertising Agency
Branding used to be a fancy business word, but it is becoming more and more used in everyday business meetings. Finally! For decades, big corporations have used in-house, very well paid brand managers - someone in charge of managing everything that relates to the brand, including design, package and partnerships.
Light Up Necklaces Help Promote Red Doors Movie at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival Awards
June 13, 2005 -- Jane Chen (Producer) of the Red Doors Movie stated, "The necklaces have been a huge hit. Several people have offered to buy them.
Corporate Internet Branding is only Part of A Business Success
Gaining new clients that are excited about developing a corporate Web site, and are gung-ho to get started is a dream come true. Trust me - as a creative individual with a keen understanding of what the Web can do for a business - I know what I'm talking about.
Setting the Right Price
One of the ways people get to know you is by the identity you project. Your company name, the way you present yourself, your business card and brochure, where you work, and other ways you conduct your business create an image that gives your customers information about you.
Build Customer Loyalty by Promoting Your Customers
Do you want to attract new customers while building greater loyalty among your current customers? Include your customers in your marketing and promotions. By creating greater awareness of your customers (and their businesses) you may help to build their businesses and increase their demand for your products and services.
Brand Equity Building - Measuring Brand Value
Measuring brand equity allows a company to establish a baseline and track changes in its brand equity over time. If a company consistently works to improve the strength of its brands, it must trace progress, or risk "flying blind.
Brand Warfare is More of a War than You Think
We will discuss Brand Marketing for a minute. In this discussion we would like to talk about brand line extension and how to do it correctly.
Brand Lo-o-o-o-o-ve...
So..