UHNW Women are from Venus…
For a recent whitepaper for Relevance and Chief Marketer I studied what makes UHNW (Ultra-High-Net-Worth) women different and special compared to UHNW men, and the general population. Read on for my 10 commandments on how to reach and resonate with UHNW women in your ultra-luxury brand marketing plan.
Commandment 1: Thou shalt not generalise.
There are only 29,300 UHNW women in the entire world, and while they are increasing at a faster rate than UHNW men, this is still a very elusive audience with special characteristics.
Commandment 2: Thou shalt collaborate and personalise.
UHNW women are equal parts ‘driven’ and ‘complacent’, which means they set goals for themselves and work hard to achieve them, but don’t get bogged down in minutiae and details, preferring to rely on others to do this for them. Therefore, it is important to show that you can bring their unique vision to life - making it easy for them to design or ‘co-create’ their own personal commission through tailor-made solutions, configurators and bespoke commissioning services.
Commandment 3: Thou shalt not be all work and no play.
Unlike their business-focused male cohorts, UHNW women describe themselves in their bio’s, in a balanced way, with an equal focus on family, business, self and giving. Therefore, unlike marketing to UHNW men where business and sport analogies will work in almost any situation, use a more balanced tone which puts the person before the role or status.
Commandment 4: Thou shalt not be dispassionate.
UHNW women are highly emotionally aware which means they are aware of their feelings and how to express them, unlike their male counterparts who are dispassionate, rarely thinking about their feelings or expressing them. Companies such as Adoreum are using this insight to great effect in establishing a network of UHNW deal makers based on compassion and that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ or gut feeling you get when you just know something is just right. Make sure to show that you value intuition in your content, ads and day to day decisions.
Commandment 5: Thou shalt not be a loner.
UHNW women are more sociable and outgoing than UHNW men, and the general population. Whereas UHNW men like to spend time alone, hence their well-known penchant for buying their own private islands, UHNW women like to be in the company of others, make friends easily and feel comfortable around other people. So, even as we plough further into the digital age, don’t forget to include events and opportunities to meet like-minded others in your UHNW marketing plan. If you’re not experienced at event marketing, partner up with Quintessentially or The Luxury Network.
Commandment 6: Thou shalt appreciate art and culture.
More than their male counterparts, UHNW women appreciate art, enjoy beauty and seek out creativity. Therefore, focusing on the art collaboration is a very useful way to position your product in a creative light, such as Rolls Royce’s Muse Programme.
Commandment 7: Thou shalt be authentic and never fake it.
UHNW women are influenced by other people like them - entrepreneurs, philanthropists, environmental activists and role models. ‘Influencers’ focusing on how to ‘get the look’ of a successful person are not required by them, they have personal stylists for this. Focus instead on true thought leaders on the topics of interest to your UHNW women target audience.
Commandment 8: Thou shalt be open to experiences - but not go too crazy
UHNW women are eager to experience new things and like to stay busy with lots of activities, so any experiences for them need to maximise their involvement while minimising time-wasting activities. This is why private travel, personal shopping and family office services are so popular with this audience. However, don’ t mistake this openness for hedonism - they still like to remain quiet and relaxed, and don’t like to lose control of themselves. In your advertising, depict women who constantly strive to learn, experience and thrive such as this Patek Phillippe example, rather than seek thrills or excitement.
Commandment 9: Thou shalt use your voice and resources for the greater good.
UHNW women are altruistic and self-transcendant, meaning they care and have the means to make a positive impact on our world, and show concern for the welfare and plight of others. Many of them (especially those who inherited their wealth) have their own charitable foundations, such as Lady Gaga’s Born this Way and Beyonce’s Beygood. Your brand can resonate with UHNW women by standing up for what’s important to you, and doing something positive about it.
Commandment 10: Thou shalt not use others as a stepping stone.
UHNW women are uncompromising, meaning ‘they think it is wrong to take advantage of others to try to get ahead’. Therefore brands and businesses wishing to appeal to UHNW women need to show that they care about fair working practice. You can cater to this need by clearly articulating your sustainable working practices and diversity programmes through branded content, and use of endorsements such as The Walpole and Positive Luxury’s Butterfly Mark.
To read the full article:
Chief Marketer (pw: relevance)
Methodology: Publicly available data about a sample of 59 UHNW women and 65 UHNW men were used to compare online behaviour, media consumption, influences, personality traits and buying mindset between the two audiences, and the general population. I used IBM Watson and social media data via Audiense to visualise the data.
