Luxury Travel, Lifestyle and Marketing Trends

The New York Times used the word “billionaire” more than 1000 times in 2011 (compared with 94 times in 1991). As the number of wealthy Americans increases, the struggle to come up with vocabulary to describe them becomes increasingly difficult.

The developing-country rich are clearly not only changing the economics of wealth, but also the language. Now for instance, there are the Blingsheviks – the flash, yacht-fleet-owning Russians. Then there are the Bollygarchs, the Indian version of the Oligarch, prone to living in personal skyscrapers. And we can’t forget about t the Ka-Ching! Dynasty – a term for the super-rich families in China.

Branded content is described as a fusion of advertising and entertainment into one marketing communications product that is integrated into an organization’s overall brand strategy intended to be distributed as entertainment content with a highly branded quality. We’ve seen the signals of a more proactive use of visual tools such as film and we’re calling it Film-induced branding (we’ve broadened the term film-induced tourism describes the effects that film and TV-productions can have on travel decisions).

Building on a trend that’s already going full force in big cities, 2012 might just be the year of the moveable feast. From New York to Los Angeles, mobile kitchens dish out not just classic American street foods but gourmet fare, ethnic specialties and fusions of bolder flavors and spices. Top mobile food industry trends in 2012 will include:

And were not just talking product placement. Film is emerging as the latest, creative awareness tool for brands looking to stand out, attract a newer audience, and make a statement. The Roma Cinema Etoile, a historical cinema in Rome that’s been closed for over twenty years, has reinvented the space as as a Louis Vuitton store complete with an in-house screening room.

In today’s hyper-competitive environment, luxury marketers that want to win must stay vigilant in tracking the shifts, turns, and changing preferences in their affluent consumer market. And what we are seeing is men are coming into their own in several industries. The affluent male segment that is. More industries are narrowing your focus (and narrow it more and more and more – almost to pinpoint).

Experiments in social dining have taken off in Chicago and San Fran and as a result, NYC dining club – Grubwithus, a site connecting people through communal feasts – just launched. Created by two friends who wanted to ease the post collegiate friend-making process, its mission is to meet new people, build friendships over food at your favorite restaurants, and never eat alone.

The rise of medical tourism to glittering hospitals in places like Singapore and Thailand has turned coddling and elegance into marketing necessities. As mentioned in the Herald Tribune: “It’s not just competing on medical grounds and specialties, but competing for customers who can go just about anywhere.”

USA Today just reported that ‘disaster tourists’ are beginning to swarm to Costa Concordia island. Barely a week after the cruise ship ran aground and keeled over just off the tiny Italian island of Giglio, ferries from the mainland are jammed with day-trippers trying to get a ringside view. More than 1,000 visitors arrived on Giglio from Tuscany’s Porto Santo Stefano Saturday, almost 10 times the normal number for a weekend in the off season. So close in the wake of the disaster, Giglio tourism officials are naturally aghast at the unwanted notoriety.

Just back from ONE Travel Conference in Orlando, which was geared to cultural, heritage and shopping tourism. Kudos to conference producers, Rosemary McCormick and Sheila Armstrong, for a fun, well run and informative conference. We tweeted some intelligence, interesting facts and figures, and social media tips, but in case you missed it, here’s a roundup: