The POOR rich

I am on a short holiday in Santiago. The grandeur of the snow-capped Andes, the joyful disposition of the Latinas, the music….everything feels so very different from the relentless and perhaps unfulfilling pursuit of growth in Singapore. I questioned materialistic pursuits and whether the rich really feel rich given the changes we have seen in the last couple of years. Nearly everything I have written below is a figment of my imagination unlike my professional work which is underpinned by data-based insights. If you are in luxury marketing or mass brand aspiring to target the affluent, I hope my creative leaps leave you thinking.

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“It was so easy to feel rich. I could travel to places others could not afford to, in style. ?I could buy things others could not and have ample opportunities to flaunt it to ‘feel’ rich. But COVID has been an unprecedented equalizer that clipped my wings. There are just not enough opportunities to feel rich anymore” - Rambling of a rich person with limited opportunities to experience her/his wealth

“I feel like my family worked so hard for generations and finally became rich but nowadays the exclusive club of the rich is not so exclusive anymore. The start-up and investment world has provided easy access to my exclusive rich club that it does not feel special anymore” – Rambling of a legacy rich person who is intimidated by the omnipresence of new age millionaires

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The idea in brief: Businesses and brands have a great opportunity to rethink the future of affluence by making the affluent consumers feel rich in new unconventional ways. The unconventionality of the suggestions stem from how the methods steer away from classic asset/experience accumulation or consumption. Besides addressing the challenges presented by hypothesized mindsets cited above, they have the potential to benefit the world at large.

FUTURE OF AFFLUENCE

I am rich because my life is purposeful: This is not about the rich doing charity as it has been happening until now. Its about living a purposeful life rallying around brands that align with their life purpose. For instance, what if they buy Nike over a Jimmy Choo because they believe sports can change lives. Nike helps them channel their wealth (with the purchase of a special line of shoes) to support athletes. They believe Nike can do this the best given Nike’s own brand purpose to bring inspiration to every athlete in the world.

I am rich because I have time to give: This is not about buying with money. It is about giving away something even more precious – their time. For instance, they don’t enjoy the single malt because it’s the most expensive bottle. Diageo facilitates an exclusive by invitation only connection with small family-owned distilleries where the rich invest the time to learn more about the barrels and the process to ‘earn’ the bottle in return for their time. The family distilleries thrive not because of the money they earn but because of the appreciation they get for their craft.

I am rich because I have no desires: This is not about luxury brands offering the next most expensive product for the rick to flaunt. Rather, it is about luxury brands finding a way for the rich to flaunt their spiritual quotient. ‘The more you learn not to value material wealth, the richer you are’ is the message luxury brands drive. For instance, an award organized by a consortium of luxury brands for their customers to recognize those who have rallied their community around spirituality and worked toward spreading peace, happiness and joy.

END NOTE: We are far from a pandemic or a start up free world. In my opinion, there is a possibility that these aspects have made the rich feel less rich. A shake-up is definitely due in luxury marketing. If the rich can’t be made to feel rich enough in conventional ways, it is high time brands find ways to get into spaces currently dominated by CSR initiatives (for purpose), NGOs (for time) and Minimalists/god-man (for spirituality).?