Elite Traveler – ET Insider – February 7, 2012

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ET Insider – February 7, 2012

Elite Traveler Insider –

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February 7, 2012

Elite Traveler Insider

By Douglas D. Gollan, President and Editor-in-Chief, Elite Traveler Magazine

More than ever private jet travelers, or elite travelers as we like to call them, are the most lucrative market for luxury brands and service providers. With readers spending $10,000 per hour to fly privately, the over 600,000 readers Elite Traveler reaches each issue provide you a great way to make sure your message is in front of consumers who have the money to be good customers. With our Asia Edition, Elite Traveler Superyachts, our over 60 Elite Traveler Destination Guides at Elitetraveler.com, our global database of private jet owners and our award-winning custom marketing team, we would welcome the opportunity to be of help to you in making sure you get a bigger share of our reader spending.

With a Net Worth of more than $25 trillion, I hope you will agree elite travelers should be a key target for your marketing!

In this issue:

1. Facebook “Likes” the Private Jet Lifestyle

2. Elite Traveler Featured in Florida Campaign Ads

3. Kurtz Tips for Luxury Marketers

4. Private Jets Take Off in St. Kitts

5. Elite Traveler Opens in Italy

1. Facebook “Likes” the Private Jet Lifestyle…

I know from time to time I run into folks who like to create fantasies of routine lifestyles for the very rich. I think that is because much of what we see about them is what they want us to see. Not so long ago I had one person telling me about how Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg only flies commercially in coach. For regular readers, you will know I believe Elite Traveler’s audited global distribution to private jet travelers underscores the fact that these UHNW consumers live in a global world using their private jets to criss-cross the world. When one considers two of Facebook’s biggest investors are a Russian billionaire and an Irish rocker, I think point proved. As to the way Facebook’s top executives travel, according to Facebook’s S-1 filing in preparation for its IPO, turns out Elite Traveler is probably on their preferred reading list:

• Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sanderberg, the company’s COO, are allowed to use company money to fly in private jets. Perks abound for family members too: “On certain occasions, Mr. Zuckerberg may be accompanied by family members or others when using private aircraft.”The company is embroiled in tons of lawsuits. “We are involved in numerous class action lawsuits…and, if resolved adversely, could harm our business,” notes the S-1.

• The company has nearly $4 billion in cash… just sitting in the bank.

• Sheryl Sandberg, with 1,899,986 shares of Facebook common stock, and 39,321,041 options, will be worth nearly $2 billion, making her one of the wealthiest women in the world. The IPO could make magnate-slash-investor Peter Thiel (also know as a Seasteading advocate and artificial-intelligence aficionado who last year paid 20 students to drop out of college and start companies) about $2 billion (based on an initial $500,000 investment).

• Yuri Milner, the Russian billionaire, owns roughly a 7 percent stake in the company.

• Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who is now an angel investor, owns 7.6 percent of the company, putting his net worth around $6.7 billion.

• Bono, the U2 frontman, paid $120 million for company stocks in 2010 to own about 1.5 percent of the company. After the company goes public, he could see his investment rise to over $1 billion.

============================================================ ONLY ELITE TRAVELER – Elite Traveler is the ONLY publication targeting and reaching private jet travelers to have its circulation successfully audited. View our BPA statement here. ============================================================

2. The New York Times: Elite Traveler Stars in Republican Florida TV Ad…

Apparently Elite Traveler is the publication of choice among the 1 percent who use private jets. That was the endorsement we received last week from Newt Gingrich in a State of Florida Republican primary ad which imposed a picture of an Elite Traveler cover next to centimillionaire Mitt Romney. As our only reason for existence is to provide an enlightening and entertaining lifestyle publication for the 1 percent (those who actually keep lots of folks employed with their businesses, luxury purchases, travel and so forth), we would like to thank Speaker Gingrich. However, just as a “fact-check” we would like to add that Newt is a frequent flier on private jets and, as we learned a few months back, a multi-hundred thousand dollar spender at Tiffany. It all sounds good to us; read on from The New York Times:

“Set to an intense violin soundtrack in crescendo, the ad is produced in the style of a movie trailer. Plaintive elderly people are shown consoling each other in one frame, then by a hospital bedside in another. A picture of Mr. Romney opposite a cover of Elite Traveler, a high-end magazine aimed at private jet travelers, is shown on the screen, followed by an unseen person counting hundred-dollar bills. It ends as the words ‘Blood Money/Romney’s Medicare Scandal/Coming Soon’ flash on screen.”

You can see for yourself at the 26 second mark at the link here.

============================================================ ONLY ELITE TRAVELER – Elite Traveler is the ONLY publication in the world delivering 400,000+ readers with a Household Income of $1 million + ============================================================

3. Kurtz: Focus On The Top 1 Percent…

Leading affluent lifestyle researcher Ron Kurtz recently outlined some strategies for luxury marketers:

• Affluent consumers (those making $100,000 to $400,000) are not necessarily luxury consumers. Of course, the definition of “luxury” is in the eye of the beholder, which could be another important caveat when considering the forecasts of the trend pundits.

• Only the wealthiest 1 percent of U.S. households appears to be knowledgeable about the price points and brands of true luxury products.

• Before the recession, some luxury consumers were among the so-called mass or aspirational affluent. These consumers have been largely shaken out of the true luxury market.

• Marketers should avoid chasing emerging consumer market segments if that will cause them to be distracted and dilute efforts targeting their existing primary (UHNW) consumer markets.

• Traditional marketing communications channels should not be forsaken, especially if marketers are targeting affluent and luxury consumers.

• Many in the large numbers of digital fans and followers of luxury brands are aspirational consumers and other “luxury-curious” voyeurs who cannot afford the products.

• The true affluent are the more knowledgeable and more sophisticated consumers. Their priorities have always been quality and value when making a purchase decision.

• Just put yourself in the shoes of your customers. This Golden Rule applies to product, pricing, service, post-sale relations, communications and all forms of interaction with the customer.

============================================================ ONLY ELITE TRAVELER – Elite Traveler is the ONLY publication targeting private jet travelers with an independent editorial and design team, original photography, award-winning editors, designers and photographers. ============================================================

4. St. Kitts Sees Influx Of Private Jets…

More than 90 private jets were parked at Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in December, a spike in demand that has led the country to break ground on an FBO. Private jets ranged up to a Boeing Business Jet (a private version of a 737 that typically seats 150 passengers for a commercial flight). The FBO is scheduled to open in October and enhance the contributions of private jet travelers to the local economy.

============================================================ ONLY ELITE TRAVELER – Elite Traveler is the ONLY publication that delivers UHNW consumers on private jets from more than 100 countries with a single ad. ============================================================

5. Buongiorno Italia...

I am excited to announce Elite Traveler has opened our own full-service Sales Office for Italy, based in Rome. Gianfranco Caputo, a 20-year veteran of luxury consumer fairs and magazines, serves as our Director. Contact information is below:

Elite Luxury Publishing Inc. Via Antonio Salandra, 18 00187 Roma Italia

Tel. +39 06 4227 2162 Tel. +39 06 4227 2167 Fax +39 06 4227 4000 Mob. +39 338 6201905 Email: gianfranco.caputo@elitetraveler.com

All the best,

Douglas D. Gollan Group President and Editor-in-Chief Elite Traveler, the private jet lifestyle magazine Elite Traveler Superyachts, the superyacht lifestyle magazine Elite Traveler Asia, Asia’s private jet lifestyle magazine Elitetraveler.com, the private jet lifestyle online Elite Traveler Update, our weekly e-Newsletter to private jet owners worldwide