Relevance has released its latest digital marketing whitepaper, providing a fascinating insight into UHNWIs, including tips on how to market to UHNWIs by our digital marketing and luxury branding experts.

Relevance has been helping luxury companies market their products and services to UHNWIs for more than a decade. Our latest digital marketing UHNW whitepaper draws on research from major reports, including the Wealth-X 2021 Ultra-Wealth Report and our proprietary research gleaned over a decade of experience marketing to this wealthy cohort.  

Our whitepaper takes an in-depth look at one of the world’s richest audiences, including their personality traits and interests, primary locations, sources of wealth, and spending habits. It also includes expert tips on tailoring marketing strategies across our core services, including luxury branding, SEO, paid advertising, content creation, social media, influencer marketing, public relations, and CRM and marketing automation.

Here we explore some of the key takeaways from our UHNW digital marketing whitepaper. You can download the full UHNW whitepaper at the end of this article.

Key takeouts from Relevance’s UHNW digital marketing whitepaper

Relevance’s UHNW whitepaper breaks down this exclusive audience providing clear insights into this elite audience.

Takeaways include:

Key stats

• There are 295,450 UHNWIs globally, with a median net worth of US$52 million.
• The number of UHNWIs is growing, providing exciting opportunities for luxury brands.
• The proportion of UHNW women is soaring, with women now making up 10.2% of the UHNW population. 
• The average age of the global UHNW population is 64; just 12% are younger than 50
• UHNWIs spend more than $300 billion on luxury goods each year.

Locations & sources of wealth 

• The US continues to remain the world’s dominant wealth hub.
• Asia is now the second-largest UHNW region, with Europe dropping to third place.
• New emerging markets include Indonesia, India, and New Zealand.
• By 2024, Asia-Pacific will boast almost a quarter of the global population of UHNWIs.  

• The number of self-made UHNWIs continues to rise – up 6% since 2016.
• Just 7.4% of UHNW individuals have purely inherited wealth.

Personality traits and interests

• UHNWIs display high levels of mental stability, self-confidence and boast high tolerance levels for frustration.
• UHWNIs are extroverts and are often open to trying new experiences.
• UHNW women are more emotionally aware than their male counterparts.
• Empathy, philanthropy, and social responsibility are paramount for UHNW women
• Both UHNW women and men set high goals for themselves.
• UHNWIs show high levels of interest in sports, philanthropy, and the outdoors.

Effective UHNW digital marketing solutions

As well as exploring one of the world’s richest audiences in detail, Relevance’s digital marketing whitepaper also provides insider knowledge on how to market UHNWIs.

Marketing to one of the world’s wealthiest cohorts poses unique challenges, especially as their small numbers can easily throw a marketer off course.

If luxury brands want to target this highly elite audience successfully, they must truly understand them and tailor every element of their digital marketing strategy accordingly. Luxury marketers must understand that mass-market strategies will not work with this exclusive cohort.

Here are just some of the key tips provided by Relevance’s luxury digital marketing and branding experts across our core service offerings:

Luxury branding

• A luxury brand must have a clear vision and truly understand what makes them unique. Relevance starts any branding project by first establishing the positioning of a company, culminating in a pre-branding identity document. 

• Brands that market to UHNWIs must look the part. Imagery must always be professional, unique, and thoughtful, and typography must be elegant and reflect how the brand wishes to communicate with its audience.
• Stock images must be eschewed wherever possible; bespoke is the essence of luxury.
• A premium brand’s story must be consistent across all touchpoints to build a trustworthy connection with UHNWIs.

SEO

• More than 70% of UHNWIs use search engines for research before purchasing online.
• UHNWIs tend to conduct more specific searches, with commercial and transactional terms leaning more towards long-tail keywords.
• An SEO strategy must be flexible to reach both UHNWIs carrying out specific searches and their entourage of assistants and advisors who are often the decision-makers. 
• Selecting interesting, niche topics that cater to the likes and interests of the super-rich are what sets traditional digital marketing apart from those that focus specifically on UHNWIs.
• An SEO strategy designed to target UHNWIs should also utilise an effective sales funnel, providing a tailored approach at each stage, keeping the customer engaged and moving forward on their purchase journey.

Paid advertising and social advertising

• Modern search presents an excellent opportunity for luxury brands to maximise the benefits of automation.
• The world’s wealthiest audiences appreciate quality immersive experiences and integrated campaigns. Luxury brands will now have the power to build power first-party audience segments by building trust with their UHNW audience and participating in mutually beneficial value exchanges.
• For premium brands, programmatic represents a huge opportunity and should form part of any always-on media plan.
• The success of paid advertising in 2022 and beyond for digital brands with UHNW clients will be underpinned by the intelligent use of data and providing quality experiences.

Luxury marketing copy style guide

• Marketing copy must convey quality of quantity and focus on the exclusivity of a product, its desirability and uniqueness, as well as the investment opportunity it represents
• Mass market words, such as ‘popular’, ‘spectacular’ and ‘incredible’, should be avoided at all costs.
• Marketing to UHNWIs desire discretion and privacy, and this should be conveyed across all luxury marketing copy.
• Sustainability and brand values are of growing importance and should be clearly conveyed.
• UHNWIs do not want to be rushed into a purchase; copy must always be tailored towards a soft sell.

Social media and influencer marketing

• The key to resonating with and marketing to UHNWIs on social media is creating exceptional content that feels refined, exclusive and personalised to their needs. Content should create a sense of need, longing, and exclusivity.
• Good community management is essential – UHNWIs expect answers straight away.
• Genuinfluencers can help luxury brands by offering authentic content with actionable insights that UHNW audiences are craving.
• High-value brands must prove their social acceptability as a vital part of the purchasing journey, and this should be highlighted on social media channels.

Public relations

• Just like any other audience, UHNWIs consume news and are receptive to stories with interesting news hooks.
• An essential part of a public relations strategy for luxury brands targeting UHNWIs is to reach the right publications and journalists rather than sharing the same news on multiple platforms.
• When targeting a luxury audience, message, storytelling, and experience must be integrated into a public relations strategy. The message must reflect a product or service’s exclusivity and exceptional features; storytelling should evoke your audience’s emotions and create a feeling of connection, while brand ambassadors can help re-create the experience of owning a luxury product or enjoying a premium service.

CRM and marketing automation

• Luxury providers need to implement a CRM system that prioritises the collection of as many touchpoints as possible.
• Segmentation and targeting are paramount to avoid inappropriate communications to audiences for whom the content isn’t relevant.
• Calls to action, informational choices and the occasional bait aimed at segmenting out rather than including, create “micro-targeting” that is sought by elite audiences that seek quality over quantity. 

If you need support and guidance with marketing to UHNWIs, then contact the team of luxury digital marketing experts at Relevance. Our luxury marketing specialists cover branding, website design and development, SEO, paid advertising, social media, influencer marketing, PR, content marketing, and CRM, and can help you reach and resonate with this highly elite audience.

For more insights, download the full UHNW whitepaper below.