We are in a dynamic and changed environment for sponsorship across many sectors, but this might be a boon time for luxury sponsorship. That’s because the combination of a glut of luxury brands, a growing aspirational audience, large numbers of influencers, and unabated growth in social media content has produced new opportunities. At the top-end of luxury, there are venues, events, and high-brow gatherings where sponsorship alignment is also attainable. If, however, you are unfamiliar, developing and maintaining sponsor relationships can be the most difficult task in business.

This week several friends and associates called me to ask if I had heard the news about Macy’s. The department store announced it is closing 150 underperforming stores across the country, will open new stores, and will focus more on attracting luxury shoppers. Of course, I had heard the news, and understood well the underlying factors. I have been writing about it, speaking about it, recording videos about it, and consulting on it, for ages.

There is a tendency today to take business lessons literally. That means instead of applying the concepts behind them, the B-school phrase or area of study is presented to the public like we are sitting in our company conference room talking strategy with our team, behind the scenes.

A new year is upon us. That means you now have the opportunity for a fresh start. The calendar tells us we have twelve months to make 2024 a year of success and accomplishment. We all want to have a better year in the months to come, but the question is what is the best way to achieve this? To answer that question, I inevitably go back to one of my original products, when I launched this company back in 2001. It was a seminar, titled Create Your Own Economy.

The attention/side hustle/personal brand/social media economy has created an army of marketing soldiers peddling products and services, quickly conceived, ambitiously pitched, and often resting on shaky foundations. We see it in every category and certainly in luxury.

I am a luxury contrarian. I am proud of that. That’s because I know where and how the real money is made in luxury, and it isn’t where the pack is focused.

When a luxury brand comes to me with an open mind, we accomplish the extraordinary. I recently consulted with a major conglomerate engaged in a new acquisition. They’re going to focus part of their enlarged business on luxury and eliminate redundancies. I was told my advice will save them millions – and with a company that size, millions in savings flow right to the bottom line.

I am pleased to see so many entrepreneurs launching businesses with luxury in mind. If you sat in my chair, you would see this happening globally and in every luxury category. I began to see this rise coming more than twenty years ago, and since then, it has only accelerated. The creativity, depth, and variety of luxury offerings are impressive. Even more impressive are how young some entrepreneurs are, the diversity, and the inherent belief that this category can be conquered.

I have always admired those who march to a different beat. Early in my life, I decided I would be one of them. What that means can vary widely depending on your experiences and perspective. We all have our own version of going counter to what others might think and do. If this concept interests you, defining what marching to a different beat means to you is perhaps the first step in doing so.

There are countless ways to look at the lovely role of offering the best products and services. I believe one of my favorites is becoming a brand or professional that provides clients with joyful alternatives to the rough edges of life.

My long career has been a delicious blend. A thirst-quenching cocktail of great flavor and industry transformation in media, marketing, and management consulting. It has brought me into dialogue with diverse thinkers and doers from television producers and filmmakers, to advertising visionaries, architects, designers, and entrepreneurs. All the while, I’ve studied closely what makes a wide range of creatives, successful.

It is not new, but it has become dominant. That is, products, services, and business approaches packaged as luxury, which are far from it. Often what’s labeled as luxury is more accurately spotlighting an appealing personality, a particular lifestyle choice, an approach aided by technology intended to go upscale and attract well-heeled clients using this basket of attractors. Alas, unlike real luxury there is nothing distinctive, rare, or of exceptional value.

The minute I began my presentation, I could see her facial expression change. She was known as a focused, no-nonsense, powerhouse who would quickly cut through to what matters in a presentation. Her charming persona masked, just slightly, her intensity as a businesswoman. She had the well-earned reputation of getting things done and the ear of the CEO of this multi-billion-dollar company. I was meeting with her as the CEO was keen on moving this project forward. She would make the recommendation. Her change in demeanor, during our meeting, signaled she was giving what I had to say her full attention.

I often receive inquiries from luxury entrepreneurs asking for advice on how to market their business to attract more sales. The first thing I do is recommend they enroll in my full Luxury Lifestyle Advisor (LLA) training program which will certify them in my methods in building a luxury enterprise. I know however, they are often searching for a quick, (dare I say, magic) answer to their sales dilemma, so I ask them: “What is the age of your target prospect?” then I ask, “What is the age of your salespeople, sales manager, and director of marketing?” That’s because in luxury, age makes a big difference when it comes to strategy, tactics, and getting results.

If having class means conveying high quality, the greatest integrity, superior status, and exhibiting compelling style, how often do we see this today? If we adopt a classy approach to what we do, could that be a competitive advantage? I think so.

A small luxury brand can usually find a client or two quickly when it introduces a new product or service. What takes time, is sharpening and proving its business model. That is where luxury entrepreneurs should be focusing their time and too few do. Too often entrepreneurs are in search of capital or partners, or some magic marketing button, when in fact he or she should be proving it can sell its product and produce consistent and reliable revenues. Moreover, the entrepreneur must prove there is a unique reason for it to exist in the minds of the purchaser. Every time you sell something, your buyer is saying something about themselves. You want it to be the right thing and magnify this in your marketing.

Luxury products have the power of creating and extending long-term meaning in your client’s life. Are you using this power?

An old Zenith transistor radio sits on the table in the entry foyer of my home. I believe it is the Royal 500H from 1961 and if it were in mint condition, it would probably be worth about $150. It is worth far more to me, because it is one of the portable radios my grandmother used to listen to when I was a kid. I remember the distinct, crisp sound coming from this radio as she listened to the sounds of Motown, or her favorite talk and news programs.

Society has always been fascinated by celebrity. Whether it be entertainers or experts, we all want to see, learn about, and stay connected to people we deem special. Today, the world of celebrity has exploded. There are many people with thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, and even millions of followers. These followers are in various places – social media, email lists, prospect and client lists, contacts in mobile phones, physical records in a business, etc. What’s interesting is these are people, with these followings, are typically unknown by the general public. The question is whether you should be one of them.

People who understand technology are moving into luxury careers. People who understand luxury clients are moving out of the sector and retiring. I wish they could both be in the same room together a little longer. They could learn from each other. Luxury is a people business. It is product marketing conveyed by the range of human personality sprinkled with a heavy dose of prestige. Tech is a device, production, distribution, and access business, providing efficiency and convenience. It too involves personality as people are required to make creative decisions, feed and run devices, and handle the physical product. The masterful question: How much tech can be put in and how much personality can you take out, and still have luxury?

Branding, raising money, photo shoots, product launches, pop-up events, social media posts, podcast interviews, these are the highly visible aspects of a luxury business today. But the real action, in terms of business growth, happens in less glamourous fashion. There’s the product and offer development in the back room. Should we offer this or that? There are months or years to get enough people to try what you offer. There is the effort to find prospects and get them in your orbit in the first place, which is not as simple as the newly minted gurus might suggest. Throughout this process you are on the brink of more success, a.k.a., cash-flow, or failing, and an inability to pay your bills. What matters is what you do, during these days. If you find yourself there, by no means should you isolate yourself.

When I hear or read the word, “excellence,” it captures my attention. My expectations rise. I like the sound of the word and what it implies. But I have begun asking “What is excellence?” Perhaps, a better question is whether there is a bar defining excellence. Do you have one? Does anyone have one? Do we have a context for excellence? Are we talking about modern excellence or our grandparent’s excellence? Do different groups define excellence differently? Is it about quality, character, skill, and effort, or just money?