How to Understand, Design and Market High End Products

Marco Bevolo, Alex Gofman, Howard Moskowitz

There are luxuries that most of us will never be able to afford in a lifetime, but just off the shores of the moneyed is a huge, fast growing, land of premium value which inspires people to get there, even if they need to stretch their budget to reach it.

Premium by Design is a thoroughly researched, well argued and well presented study that identifies how global business leaders have succeeded in achieving margins by design. Thanks to original tools and processes, this book shows how you might also succeed. It is about better, but reachable and real, products and services. The book features insights from the world of customer science and design research.

The key challenge for the world today is finding out how sustainable is the underlying process that is driving this apparent desire for more and more indulgent material possessiveness? This book might not have all the answers, but it will provoke and trigger a long overdue debate in the premium and image driven industries about tomorrow's values. As a result it is a must read for anyone in this market, or aspiring to it.

Contents

Foreword; Preface; Part 1 Hope at Checkout for Everybody: Achievable dreams; Horizons where aspiration gazes; Luxury – aim high for a strong head start; Business tool: deciphering the 'algebra' of consumers' minds. Part 2 'Practical DNA': the 5 Must-Haves (Rules) of the High End: Rule 1: it is all about the 'beef' (dimension: authenticity and value); Rule 2: it is all about design and experience; Rule 3: it is all about creating the 'new' (dimension: innovation and leadership); Rule 4: it is all about 'fame' (dimension: marketing, communication and distribution); Rule 5 It is all about 'higher values' (dimension: sustainability and simplicity). Part 3 Vistas and New High End Experiences: Urban futures: opportunities for tomorrow's high end; Premium products and experiences through high design; Design for tomorrow. Part 4 Business Tools that Jump- Start Your High End: Creating new high end propositions; Know thy customer: sequencing the genome of the high end mind; Conclusions; Appendix; Index.

About the Authors

Marco Bevolo is Lecturer in International Leisure Management / Sciences at NHTV University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands, and an independent consultant. As Director at Philips Design, he worked on the set up and launch of CultureScan and in areas of urban futures programs and foresight. He graduated from the University of Turin (Psychology major) and started his career at Italdesign Giugiaro. He is co-author and contributor to some 35 articles, conference papers and books on design, branding and trends. He published his first independent book, "The Golden Crossroad", in 2009.

Dr Alex Gofman is an accomplished consumer research executive, scholar and author with a strong portfolio of successes for major global clients. With well over 100 publications, he is widely published and recognized internationally for contributions to consumer intelligence. Alex is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Pace University teaching graduate courses. He is a co-author of the award winning Selling Blue Elephants book (Wharton School Publishing) translated into 14 languages. Alex is a frequent speaker at international conferences and a guest lecturer at universities around the world.

Dr Howard Moskowitz is President of Moskowitz Jacobs Inc. He is a well-known experimental psychologist in the field of psychophysics and an inventor of world-class market research technologies. He graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in experimental psychology; and Queens College (New York) with degrees in mathematics and psychology. Dr. Moskowitz has won numerous awards, including the 2010 Walston Chubb Award for Innovation and the Charles Coolidge Parlin Marketing Research Award. He frequently speaks at scientific and market research conferences; he is a guest lecturer at leading business schools. He has written/edited eighteen books, including the internationally acclaimed Selling Blue Elephants, has published well over 300 articles and serves on the editorial board of major journals.