Why "Upscale" Isn't One Size Fits All - Don Seaman

amp160Nowhere in this report is there any indication as to how 37000 could be a living wage when that conceivably could be about what you pay in rent for the year Actually according to a report by Prudential Real Estate in 2Q 2012 the average rent on a Manhattan apartment was 3778 per month amp8211 or roughly 45000 a yearSo according to this math having a quotgoodquot job in Manhattan would probably leave you homelessGranted New York amp8211 and Manhattan especially amp8211 has price tags for most things that don39t relate to the rest of the country Boston had the second highest average rent at 2328 merely 27936 per year so if you really want to live large after your rent is paid move to Beantown New YorkersThere seems to be a cultural economic marker of having a quotsixfigure jobquot means that you39ve made it Well that39s not necessarily the case It might sound ridiculous but in some of the larger markets in the country that might mean that you need to religiously clip coupons fastidiously tighten budgets and sometimes get a night job just to keep upYet in other markets across the US six figures would put you squarely in the reviled 1A good part of this is because of the cost of living in different marketsA recent article in Forbes magazine talked about adjusting wages in light of cost of living The study cited ranked the area around Houston as its top quoteffective wagequot market amp8211 their 59838 average wage is in effect 66933 when you adjust for cost of living New York on the other hand toppled from fourth overall at 69029 to an adjusted 44605 41 Silicon Valley39s San Jose et al had the highest original wage at 92556 when adjusted down to 61581 it was still 2So for those of us who have a vested interest in accurately targeting demographics amp8211 either for commercial or perhaps political reasons amp8211 ignoring the geography of the concept of quotupscalequot might mean the difference in connecting with your consumer and alienating themMoreover if this geographic distinction exists for those of the assumed quothigh incomesquot would it not then follow that the same dynamic holds for the financially vulnerable amp8211 and politically desirable Middle ClassClearly defining the financial outlook of individual families by one national number makes about as much sense as defining the nation based upon one individual market For example we know that quoteveryonequot doesn39t watch TV on their laptops just because that39s what happens in certain Upper West Side apartmentsSo for those of you who are planning media buys be it product or political remember just who is that upscale consumer that you think you39re getting Sometimes you might just find yourself actually talking to the Middle Class And yes it makes a differenceHowever it39s probably a pretty safe bet that whatever market you39re in having a sevenfigure job means that you can stop clipping coupons alreadyDon Seaman joined the TVB in January 2012 as Manager of Marketing Communications where he is responsible for promoting and raising awareness of the TVB and of Local Broadcast Televisionamp8217s value propositions within the traditional and digital media industries Don can be reached at dontvborgRead all Don39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Local MattersCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Why "Upscale" Isn't One Size Fits All - Don Seaman

Author

Publish date

Don Seaman

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Why "Upscale" Isn't One Size Fits All - Don Seaman

Don Seaman

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies