Chris Grantham of Your Future London spends his working life telling big brands what the future has in store. Your Future has conducted extensive research into a new kind of 'premium consumer'. Does your brand make the grade? We have all read about the "democratisation of luxury" and smiled wryly at witty tags such as "mass-tige" but there is no doubt that consumer aspirations are changing and, with them, the concepts of traditional "luxury" and "premium"

that we all thought we understood.

So far, the pundits have alighted on the obvious. Read the national press, or any mainstream glossy magazine from the Style section of the Sunday Times to Elle, and you will learn that countless Fusionists can now afford a Gucci bag or a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes, and for those that can't buy the handbag it can now be rented.

The democratisation of luxury, or prestige for the masses, has already transformed the luxury landscape in two key ways. Firstly the premium consumer could be any consumer prepared to spend a premium on products and services they have prioritised. There is no longer an archetypal luxury shopper. Brand owners need to understand what the premium motivations are in their category whether it's toilet paper or cars. For example, it's more than likely that an Aston Martin driver may also buy value toilet paper. Your Future's recent Big Britain study revealed that a huge chunk of Middle England do not consider material wealth as the key to happiness and are happy to pay a premium for products and services with a conscience.

Secondly, the word luxury has become rather redundant. Luxury styles are more common place at a hygiene level to the point that they are no longer "special". Luxury offers have become more dynamic and are more about value as opposed to worth. No longer being simply about rich indulgent styles, the products that will command a premium in the future are as likely to be offering enhanced well-being, more time for yourself or an escapist fantasy, as they are likely to be trophies that we covet.

What premium and luxury means has changed over the past few years. Big famous brands like Gucci are now priced within the reach of middle-income consumers but people are discovering a new premium that doesn't necessarily lie in the famous labels territory.

Our research results from the recent Big Britain study (sponsored by BBC Magazines to examine the values and attitudes of Middle England) show that the "new premium consumer" is not one that haunts the chic high street fashion outlets, or even desires the "uber premium" labels which are currently dumbing down from their super-rich heartland to reach the pockets of those who merely have some sort of disposable income.

No, this new phenomenon is one that cuts across age groups and pretty much across social/economic groupings. It is therefore a concept that all marketers should get to grips with, and soon. Right now a rapid morphing is going on that is turning the whole concept of "premium" into something that is, for most brands, really hard to keep tabs on.

More often than not, "premium" used to mean something with social cachet, a product that was very expensive and which offered a welcome chance to indulge in a bit of retail one upmanship. You drove a Porsche for example and everybody agreed that it was both a premium and a luxury item -- it defined you.

Now however, along with a sizeable chunk of the Hollywood A list, if you drive a relatively inexpensive Toyota Prius you are also behind the wheel of a premium item, thanks to its strident green positioning.

Confused?

Well, really, it's all to do with the way people act and think. Right now they still want something special -- just like they always did. And their purchasing decisions will still define who they are to a large extent. But now, more than at any other time in consumer history, they want products and services that are more subtle and even more subjective.

This contemporary subtlety is not centred on the price-tag anymore, but rather on the brand's ability to understand where the consumer is coming from. If the brand "gets it", then the consumer buys the brand -- it's really that simple. So what is it that the consumer is looking for? What will make them happy to buy a loaf of bread that costs 10 pounds but reject a blingy Ferrari, even though they might easily be able to afford it?

Simply this. Yesterday, "luxury" meant power ownership, ostentation and badging, and was the tangible and material evidence of your success. Today, it's more about the emergence of considered consumption and the experience economy.

There is for example a universal appreciation of the traditional artisan and a rejection of "bling". People are now appreciating say the ultimate skills of a chocolatier, a whisky blender or, going back to that rather pricey loaf of bread, a baker. These are all appreciated while the surface engineering of a product and bold marketing statements are often rejected, ignored or simply met with a profound cynicism.

The new premium consumer likes to feel that they have "discovered" something rather than having been the target of marketing. So, for example, an obscure malt whisky from a micro distillery in the Outer Hebrides might become hugely popular whereas Chivas Regal from drinks giant Pernod Ricard would probably get the thumbs down. The first probably comes under recommendation, has a robust honesty and takes time to get to know it, while the latter has been bluntly advertised, and is so primped and preened and packaged that it would seem as fake as a false tan.

If these consumers don't like being the targets of marketing how do they find out about the products that appear on their own personal cool wall? Word of mouth obviously plays a phenomenal role. It enables people to feel that they have discovered something rather than having been forced fed an expensive marketing campaign.

In the UK, consumer expenditure on premium foods is predicted to increase by 27% between 2003 and 2008 (Datamonitor). A good example is the gourmet and boutique chocolate trend, but you can find premium expressions of even the most mundane everyday food items.

The product integrity itself has also got to be just right. And this needs to be revealed subtly rather than trumpeted in expensive ad campaigns and on 48-sheet poster sites or full-page ads in the glossies.

From now on, brands will have to embark on education (rather than old-fashioned marketing) where a layered message can steadily unfold.

The new premium consumer appreciates connoisseurship and it takes time to be a connoisseur, so no hearts-and-minds battle is going to won overnight. But, obviously once discerning people have adopted a brand or product they become staunch advocates, essentially working for the brand as unsalaried ambassadors. Just ask yourself how many times somebody has told you that First Direct is a great bank and how often you have seen major advertising for the brand?

High on the list of priorities for the new premium consumer is where a brand stands on issues that are important to them. We are witnessing an eco affluence at the moment, where a product is appreciated because it is organic, its manufacture has been carbon offset or it so closer to source, ie hasn't been shipped halfway round the world or manufactured by an exploitative process.

This even stretches to items such as pet food -- this week for example a new brand has launched called Organipets. As the name suggests, it's organic, full of good stuff, and comes in biodegradable packaging. As part of its positioning it actually mentions that it has a low carbon footprint and that it's made in the UK so cuts down on food miles.

This exemplifies the aspect of the new premium consumer's character that is all about personal reward. Rather than be showy and shallow they would rather be virtuous and thoughtful.

My advice on getting to grips with this, and other types of seismic consumer change, is to create a programme of research and consultation that will continually place your brand in the future landscape. Actually think about the future more and create a cultural road map that will guide you towards developing the sort of products and relationships that are increasingly more relevant to today's world. After all, everybody should remember the words of Charles F Kettering: "We should all be concerned about the future because we will have to spend the rest of our lives there."

(Source: Media)