Identifying the Facets of Premium

Challenge

Identifying the facets of premium for a premium credit card brand to build distinct identities for their card’s portfolio and drive acquisition for the master brand.

In a world where routine is inevitable, many are choosing to enhance their everyday experiences by adding a touch of luxury to the mundane. But what’s considered premium can differ from person to person. Our client’s mission? To explore what makes something truly premium and develop a strategic plan that’s meaningful and practical for their audience while staying authentic to their brand.

Approach

We embarked our dual-method approach with virtual stakeholder interviews to gain insider perspectives on the credit card brands. We then delved into in-depth conversations with premium credit card users to explore the dimensions of premium and understand real and meaningful examples of premium in their lives.

Using these insights, we fielded a 20-minute survey to 2,900 premium credit card owners, including our client’s target brand users, to further refine their associations to premium and the brand, and identify the unique jobs of credit cards within the premium space. Finally, we concluded with an interactive in-person workshop to discuss the perceptual map of premium derived from the survey data and brainstorm implications for future activation efforts.

Impact

Our client received a strategic, data-driven roadmap bringing to life the meaning of “premium”, its emotional facets, and key brand equities within the space. We also uncovered nuances among target segments, and what it would take to action credit card features and functional benefits in a meaningful way and drive acquisition.