For $700,000 you could own historically significant chimney piece heads. They’re not just any chimney piece heads. According to Luxist, it’s:

An extremely rare, important and well-preserved neo-Gothic terracotta chimney piece commissioned for Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia and King of Hungary, in the late 19th century

For potential buyers, the most important aspect of this is not the craftsmanship, or even how the chimney piece heads look. The most important aspect is its age and royal associations.

A Theta personality will be attracted to this because of the piece’s backstory. This piece serves no purpose other than to be put on display. Thetas gravitate toward luxury items that can be added to their existing personal picture and sense of unity. Thetas would see this item as fulfilling that need.

Thetas look for benefits that improve their social standing. Thetas look for recognition. As I mentioned above, this item would be bought and immediately put on display. A Theta personality would take great pride in showing off this historically significant item off to their friends and others who he perceives as also being part of his desired social circle.

The two guards on the chimney are engraved with a staying that Theta personalities would find great significance in:

Two knights standing on Corinthian columns flank the mantelpiece, which also bears the Emperor’s motto Viribus Unitis, “With united forces.”

Thetas seek unity within themselves, so it is likely that a Theta will attach some personal significance to this phrasing, which would make the item more attractive. Also, because the item is so old, it will likely become some kind of personal adage for the Theta personality.

Ultimately it will be the item’s rarity that will be the most items most attractive feature. Thetas will link their status to the rarity of the product. According to their worldview, if the product is rare, it would imply to anyone viewing it, that the owner, too, is unique.

Brand loyalty can be created by offering consumers luxury on their schedule. Now that many people have smartphones, luxury houses and retailers are reaching out to these users with smartphone applications so that people can experience luxury brands wherever they are.

It’s an interesting and engaging marketing strategy — people actively choose to install and engage with these applications, and the companes that offer them hope (and expect) that they’ll lead to eventual sales. Earlier this year we saw Chanel begin to offer an iPhone app to show off its newest collections. Now a luxury retailer, Net-a-Porter, has created an iPhone application that allows customers to browse their catalog of luxury items and even make purchases from their iPhones. Alison Loehnis, the vice president of sales and marketing at Net-a-Porter, called this sort of application “the new shop window,” saying that people are ready to move beyond making online purchases from their computers.

I think people may be slightly uncomfortable with making large purchases over their phones initially, but this will decrease as people realize the benefits of being able to purchase what they want from anywhere. One potential benefit: someone might be able to purchase a limited edition luxury good right when it goes on sale while she’s out and about, rather than having to wait at a computer (or miss the opportunity to purchase because she couldn’t get to a computer fast enough). Being exceptional and doing what you want when you want is more of a Lambda characteristic — I believe that they will be the ones to embrace mobile luxury purchases first.

World famous sports and entertainment arena Madison Square Garden in New York City, is developing a “supersuite” for the highly affluent segment of its clientele. The 5,000-square-foot suite will fit up to 300 people and is said to feature granite-topped kitchen islands, formal dining tables, full bars and a fireplace.

The cost of enjoying the supersuite remains to be confirmed as pricing decisions have not yet been made, but the Vice Chairman of MSG, Hank Ratner, has said the company is trying to learn from other sports venues who are cutting their prices in an uncertain economy. The Yankees, for example, have cut the price of over 100 front-row seats from $2,500 to $1,250 after seeing empty rows of the top-priced spots game after game.

But prices are still likely to be only in range for a select few. MSG is determined to pursue the development despite difficult financial times, and hopefully there are still enough people able to afford spending their money on this type of experience. As MSG itself is already a very strong brand on a global scale, it definitely has good prerequisites.

The supersuite is also likely to appeal to most people, whether they have Theta or Lambda worldviews on luxury. The self-focused Lambda would be attracted to the opportunity to show off his wealth in this one-of-a-kind environment. The Lambda would also be drawn to the freedom of movement and sense of independence that the suite would offer, as compared to even the most attractive seats. The socially-focused Theta would instead find it appealing as a means of gathering all of his friends and associates together in one place.

Photo by *spud* via Flickr

Janusian Thinking is derived from the concept of paradox.

Janus, the Greek god of doors and gates and beginnings and endings, was most often depicted with as man with two heads, each facing in opposite directions.

The obvious benefit of such a dual perspective – and the underlying power of Janusian thinking – is that it provides the ability to consider multiple perspectives simultaneously. Failure to do this results in decision-making paralysis, depression or in wasted effort, pursuing false goals.

Variants of Janusian thinking are applied in contemporary contexts to military planning, corporate strategy, and academic analysis.

Janusian thinking can be a valuable tool in everyday life. Our modern existence requires us to weigh complex, competing phenomena concurrently and make decisions we can stick by, despite having incomplete information.

In this blog I often apply the concepts of Janusian thinking to luxury marketing and to the behaviour of the diamond industry, but it offers us many more valuable insights into human behaviour. Mastering Janusian thinking holds the key  to moving beyond personal and institutional blockages and becoming a committed, purposeful leader.

In my PhD I offered descriptions of two predominant ‘worldviews’, which I termed Theta and Lambda.

People tend to prefer one of these two Theta or Lambda worldviews in their pursuit of life purpose, and thus also in the pattern of their purchasing decisions.

The Theta-Lambda worldview is particularly applicable to one’s consumption of luxury products as this category of goods and services aims to tap into our desire to reflect externally what we see as our internally derived identity.

While we can only see the world from one perspective, we can strive to respect and understand that there may be a different perspective, thus also respecting the person who has adopted that viewpoint.

Handling this apparent paradox – of holding one view to be true while allowing for another valid perspective to exist – is the key to achieving a rich and full interpretation of the world.

The Wall Street Journal’s Wealth Blog recently posted about how true luxury — “goods that are rare, expertly made and sold to a select few” — is on the rise in spite of the recession. The wealthy seem to appreciate the exclusivity of luxury, and the economic climate has widened the gap between those who can afford to spend on true luxury and those who can’t. In a recent survey of private jet owners, 94% defined luxury as ‘for one’s self’ rather than for the masses. This is in line with my my thinking, that luxury depends on how the individual interprets it.

While I didn’t have the chance to research this for my PhD, my feeling is that Lambda personalities are the early birds and will be the early majority to start spending on luxury again. I hope to have the opportunity to research in the future whether the purchasing cycle from early birds to late comers follows from Lambda to Theta. My colleague Randy has observed that Lambdas tend to spend more than Thetas on similar offers. Theta buyers buy smaller diamonds, for example.

We are now seeing Lambda consumers interested in bespoke (and more expensive) purchases while Thetas will potentially follow later. This could be explained by the yearning of the Lambda for novelty while Theta look for social affiliation so the society has to be created first so they can join it.

It seems that the economic crisis has put many luxury shoppers into a state of shock. We can’t forget that luxury is what makes us human: it allows us to choose. People learned quickly how to overcome this shock.
Lambdas have already started but Theta will follow. Thus all the claims that the cheaper stuff is out is premature. People will go back to Burberry but it will take some time since the more expensive things will be sold first. However, if we talk about an economic recovery in 2010, luxury recovery will start earlier, maybe in 2009.

Here’s an interesting video from last year about one man’s exploration of luxury:

Benjamin Wallace seems to be a Lambda personality–he sought out achievement and uniqueness by trying out some of the world’s most famous luxury items, including the 1947 Cheval Blanc–but in the end he was left somewhat unimpressed, and thought that many of the things he tried weren’t worth their extravagant cost.

Luxury is in the eye of the beholder–even though the things that Wallace tried are the ‘generally accepted’ to be the very best, his opinions perhaps differed from those of a ‘real’ connoisseur. It’s very important to figure out what’s important to you, what gives you the most pleasure–knowing and being able to seek that which gives you the most pleasure is the greatest luxury.

Unbranded shopping bags, secret shopping parties at homes, purchases made to look like gifts–these are the lengths to which people are going to hide their spending from their husbands, wives and the public this holiday season.

The New York Times and the Daily Beast have both recently run articles about how people who don’t want to be seen as insensitive to the financial crisis are finding more discrete ways to spend money. Who are these people (mostly women judging from the reports), and what do their new habits say about luxury?

I believe that many of these women are classic Thetas–they seek affiliation and control, and want to contextualize themselves in a group of like-minded women (a group that often gets together and has these secret shopping parties.). They are not acting like Lambdas, who seek achievement and uniqueness and want to stand out.

Said an editor at Allure, a likely Theta:

Shopping is almost embarrassing, and a little vulgar right now.

Despite this sentiment, people are still going out of their way to consume luxury secretly; there’s still demand for it. Thetas are seeking it out on their own–perhaps more attention should be placed on reaching Lambdas during the recession to unlock their desire for things they need.

As the economic crisis turns into a recession, luxury companies are showing signs that they’re being affected negatively. According to this New York Times article, Marc Jacobs has cancelled his lavish annual holiday party, Mastercard SpendPulse estimates that luxury spending dropped 20.1% in October, magazines are reporting cutbacks, and luxury companies (including Graff Diamonds and Brioni) are purchasing fewer advertising page.

Surely these budget cuts and delays in marketing plans are a worry for luxury companies. But a greater worry is that the credit crunch will change peoples habits and make them less willing to spend on the very best. Wealthy people may no longer think it’s appropriate to wear $280,000 earrings to events while so many others are losing their jobs. Will the recession force conspicous consumption to end and make people stop buying luxury products all together?

I’m hopeful that the answer is no: if people stay true to themselves and they way that they interpret luxury, they’ll continue to buy what gives them the most pleasure. Thetas will find perfect things for affiliation, and Lambdas will find things that make them feel truly exceptional. Economic conditions may make the luxury buyer’s budget smaller, but if he or she is buying something (like a diamond) that represents love in a relationship, such affection won’t be suppressed by difficult economic times.

A recent article in the Financial Times shows that luxury retailers are failing to harness the potential of the virtual world. Many luxury brands still prove poor at offering personalised custom service online—a keystone of what makes their brand high-end instores. Are these brands underestimating how new technology and social networking tools can help build personal relationships and loyalty between visitors and the brand across global markets? A missed opportunity for global connectivity or protection of the luxury brand?

Therein lies the tension inherent in an online outlet: how do you expand your brand to mass consumers while retaining high-value buyers? For high-end luxury brands known for exclusivity, does an online presence make a brand too accessible to everyday Joe? The fear of devaluing one’s brand through a strong web presence has slowed many exclusive names from entering the virtual marketplace.

Perhaps, an understanding of the classic differences between Thetas and Lambdas could help marketers understand how new communication outlets like the web can tap into luxury consumer mindsets without losing hte personal attention expected in luxury marketing. By raising awareness of the brand online, marketers can draw in Thetas by creating a virtual community for various peer groups. On the other hand, by maintaining a high-end value of personal service and localised responsiveness, Lambdas can retain a sense of exclusive individuality through the luxury brand. In turn, the web can be embraced, rather than feared, by luxury retailers.

The Bentley brand is associated with quality and for creating products that allow customers to travel in style. The luxury car manufacturer is now aiming to make cruising the information super highway a similarly extravagant experience for the select few who will own the new Bentley laptop computer.

Bentley’s new product, one of the most expensive on the market, debuted at the British International Motor Show in London in July and will be retailed globally in high-end stores in October – but only to the first 250 people able to splurge the £10,000 to get one of the limited edition laptops.

Featuring Windows Vista, a 64-bit processor, a 160GB hard drive and 12 direct access keys, each Bentley laptop is hand-built, and encased in leather with the same cross-over stitching detail seen on the car seats. The chrome carry handle is modelled after the trademark automobile’s door handle as well.

Bentley paired up with Ego Lifestyle, a luxury and lifestyle product designer, who specialize in creating customized computers, to produce the laptop. Though it’s not the first time high-end car brands have relied on their brand perception to launch into the electronics market, to date this type of pairing has been mostly the domain of sports car manufacturers, like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Koenigsegg.

Bentley’s newest addition to the market stands apart from the specialist designs created by the sports car manufacturers. These brands are associated with products that are sharp and fast, and promote the idea that the computers will have the same type of edge the sports cars evoke. The difference with the Bentley laptop closely reflects the differences in the brands, with Bentley emphasizing individuality and class. And while the sports car branded laptops retail at between £1,200 and £1,700, the Bentley laptop’s much higher price is a clearly distinctive point.

Bentley’s new product will appeal to luxury consumers of both the Lambda and Theta worldviews. Each PC can be moulded into a highly specialized look based on the consumer’s colour choice for the leather casing as well as the chrome interior, so there’s little chance of running into someone with the same piece and the same bespoke detailing, a plus from the Lambda perspective. On the other hand, the Bentley logo is clearly visible, and the laptop exudes the same sense of craftsmanship associated with the automobile brand, which will appeal to the Theta consumer.

With the Bentley laptop set to go on sale next month, it will be interesting to see how quickly the few available products will be snatched up. Success in this venture may see Bentley, like other luxury goods makers, continue to use its status as a trusted brand as a platform to hype existing markets.