Style in a Down Market

A brief article in the business section of the New York Times this morning chronicled the impact the economic downturn is having on publications geared to the upscale market including the quarterly from Time magazine called Time Style and Design and the NYT’s occasional New York Times Style Magazine. These publications, of course, are meant to be a targeted advertising medium for products aimed at those with lots of disposable income. Whether this is the true readership may be open to debate in light of the article’s droll assessment that buying all the advertised products in the Winter Edition of Time Style and Design would cost more than $51 million or more than 340 times the annual income of the average reader.

Conspicious consumption is out

In times when so many people are facing foreclosures and bankruptcies, flaunting wealth just doesn’t seem very stylish and the ad revenues of the magazines are suffering. You could argue that ostentation is never stylish. I would say that in Durham the urge seldom gets beyond “keeping score” to the level of “flaunting.”

Writing copy for upscale property marketing

In this environment writing copy for upscale properties is more challenging even for that rare listing agent who has moved beyond thinking only in terms of volume (square feet, acerage, number of bedrooms, number of baths, etc.) Still, if the gold fixtures and marble columns are going to seem gauche, where do you go?

There are actually a number of timeless themes that are useful even in a more boistorious economy. They include safety, privacy, history, convenience and community. For example, no upscale home in Durham within five miles of downtown should be described without mentioning the new performing arts center.

“Green” is a relatively new theme that can draw some attention. Being green can be ridiculously expensive so the emphasis isn’t on cost saving but on “reducing the carbon footprint.”

Good ad copy doesn’t add value, it describes value and a good listing agent will make the effort to communicate all the value that’s there as effectively as possible.