There are reasons why luxury brands avoid certain advertising tactics. Gucci wouldn’t use infomercials to sell tiger-print duffel bags, Equinox doesn’t offer New Year’s discounts, and Kia uses hamsters instead of luxury cars in their commercials.

Luxury brand advertising often centers around the concept of luxury itself. It’s about the positive emotions, the high quality, and the extravagance associated with owning such products. They sell an aspirational lifestyle, whether it’s through a captivating TV ad or a well-targeted Google Ad. Your target audience, regardless of the platform, needs to perceive your product as the embodiment of luxury. For instance, let’s analyze a Rolex ad, a brand renowned globally for its luxury watches:

The language employed is deliberate: “timeless,” “luxury,” “performance,” and “prestige.” These words create a strong impression of opulence, implying that owning a Rolex elevates one’s status. You might not yet have the brand recognition of Rolex, but we can guide you on how to apply similar strategies, including Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, to expand your luxury brand’s reach.

Here’s a concise look at the five key strategies for luxury brand advertising:

1. Filter out unqualified leads by excluding terms like “cheap” and “free” from your ad campaigns.
2. Utilize Bing Ads to reach their older, wealthier user base.
3. Craft compelling ad copy that resonates with your desired customer.
4. Target your ads based on users’ income levels.
5. Implement dynamic remarketing to re-engage potential customers. Let’s delve deeper into each strategy. P.S. Pressed for time? Download our free All-Star Playbook to Online Advertising for later.

Luxury Marketing Strategy #1: Account-Wide Negative Keywords

The first and most straightforward strategy for marketing your luxury brand is the classic “less is more” approach. You likely already incorporate negative keywords into your optimization process, but did you know you can streamline this by applying them at the account level?

Account-level negative keywords are a simple yet effective addition to your Google Ads strategy. Simply create a CSV file containing your negative keywords, upload it through the Bulk Upload tab in the Shared Library, and apply it to your desired campaigns. This offers multiple advantages, particularly for luxury goods and services, by filtering out irrelevant traffic. Here’s why: Imagine you’re selling handcrafted shoes made by skilled artisans. While the keyword “shoes” will attract traffic, and some users might be interested in your unique footwear, the majority of that traffic won’t align with your target market. This problem intensifies with modified keywords. Terms like “cheap,” “sale,” or “free” often indicate a searcher seeking discounts, making them less likely to be interested in your high-end products. Account-wide negative keywords help you avoid wasting ad spend on irrelevant searches, whether intentional or accidental.

Luxury Marketing Strategy #2: Prioritize Bing Ads

Many search marketers view Google Ads as the ultimate platform, often neglecting other networks like Bing and Yahoo Gemini. This is a mistake in general, but for luxury brands, it’s a critical oversight. On According to Bing, almost a third of its user base has a household income exceeding $100,000.

What does this 30% translate to? It represents a substantial audience of 160 million unique users conducting 5 billion searches every month. Crucially, Bing provides access to 59 million users not found on Google, a significant opportunity for your business. While clicks on Bing are generally more affordable than on Google Ads, its true value lies in the potential to expose your luxury goods to an additional 118 million individuals, one-third of whom have significant purchasing power.

Luxury Marketing Strategy #3: Enhance Your Ad Copy

With Expanded Text Ads now standard, there’s never been a better opportunity to showcase your high-end product through captivating ad copy. The increased character limit allows you to differentiate yourself on the search engine results page (SERP) through persuasive language, moving beyond reliance solely on brand recognition. Even when bidding on branded keywords, you’ll likely face competition from third-party sellers and competitors. Compelling ad copy is essential to attract clicks and stand out. So, what constitutes effective ad copy? Let’s explore:

The left column demonstrates how Standard Text Ads (STAs) used to severely limit your ability to craft compelling ad copy. Standing out from the competition was challenging when everyone was confined to using the same limited phrases. Back then, hiring a commercially driven haiku writer seemed like the only solution. However, with the introduction of a second headline and expanded description space (including URL paths), you can now effectively communicate your brand’s unique selling proposition. Embrace enticing, alluring, and irresistible copywriting. Don’t just tell your audience to “Buy Now”; explain why they absolutely need your product. Let’s examine a Chanel text ad. What stands out?

In the past, this ad would have defied best practices. Today, it presents an intriguing A/B testing opportunity. Are the headlines perfect? Not really. They heavily lean on brand recognition, missing the chance to elaborate on what makes their products luxurious. However, the CTA asking users to “Discover” instead of a forceful “Buy Now!!!!!!” is intriguing. Chanel positions itself not just as a collection of expensive products, but as an immersive experience. Ready to purchase that luxurious handbag yet? NOTE: Features like IF functions and other modifiers further enhance your ability to deliver personalized, compelling ad copy.

Luxury Marketing Strategy #4: Implement Income-Based Targeting

You’ve crafted ads to appeal to affluent individuals and negated keywords suggesting discounts. Now, let’s explore income-based geo-targeting. This strategy is another powerful way to optimize your ad spend and ensure your ads reach the right audience. It’s simpler than you might think. Under the “Location Groups” tab, you’ll find three options:

• “Places of interest”- Not ideal for this purpose.
• “My locations”- Useful if you have physical stores.
• “Demographics”- Our winner! The demographics tab focuses specifically on estimated household income.

According to Google, income-based location targeting relies on “publicly available data from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), allowing advertisers to target ads to specific areas based on their average household income.” When you defined your ideal customer profile, average household income was likely a crucial factor. It influences what you sell and how you sell it. Now, you can utilize IRS data to identify and target these high-value individuals. The best part? You can layer income-based targeting with your existing location targeting for maximum impact. You don’t have to completely exclude areas outside those with higher average incomes; create separate campaigns (allocating more budget to areas with a higher concentration of your target audience) or implement bid adjustments. Need further convincing? Jack Taylor, a Managed Services strategist at nexus-security, implemented income-based targeting for a high-end financial services client. By focusing on affluent individuals, a small, niche audience most likely to convert, and using aggressive bid adjustments to prioritize the top 50% of earners, he managed to reduce their cost per lead by nearly 41% in just one month. Impressively, their conversion rate also improved due to the higher quality of leads.

Luxury Marketing Strategy #5: Nurture Paid Traffic with a Personal Touch

Remarketing is effective, but Dynamic Remarketing takes it a step further. Let’s compare two scenarios: “Ordinary Sneakers” and “Luxury Footwear.”

Ordinary Sneakers

Sure, some of these sneakers are appealing (especially the third pair from the right). But does this remarketing ad scream “luxury?” Not really. It reminds me of the brand and gets me thinking about their shoes. I might even visit their website later to browse. As a basic remarketing ad, it’s decent. However, it doesn’t evoke luxury or create a sense of need. Now, let’s contrast this with a remarketing ad for a similar but luxurious product.

Luxury Footwear

This shoe is a collaboration between New Balance and Ball and Buck (a high-end menswear store in Boston). Handcrafted in the USA using premium materials, it’s simply exceptional. What’s noteworthy about this ad? It uses a clean, product-focused image to highlight the sneaker’s luxurious appeal. It showcases the specific shoe I viewed, consistently reminding me of its desirability. This, my friends, is the difference between regular and Dynamic Remarketing. Dynamic Remarketing lets you show website visitors the exact products they previously viewed. While this tactic is employed across various industries, it’s particularly effective for high-priced items. It fosters familiarity without being intrusive (as long as you maintain reasonable impression limits). The key takeaway? Dynamic Remarketing is a powerful addition to your paid search strategy and a cost-effective way to enhance brand awareness.