Working with Vertu

Last week when I visited Niemann Marcus to check out the Vertu phones, they didn't have them in stock; the store doesn't carry them but instead orders them for interested customers. Instead, they let me check out the "Working with Vertu" manual for retailers, which was a gold mine of marketing information. There were no hard data available, but instead it provides a sense of how Vertu is trying to project itself and how it views its customers. Unfortunately, I only had my cell phone camera with me and I took the pictures secretively (not sure if I was allowed to photograph this). Here are some of the more interesting sections (have 49 pictures in total, if anyone is interested).



First sentence: "In a world of mass production, the desire for exclusivity remains strong. Millions of people own mobile phones, but among their number are individuals who demand the best in everything they buy."



The images already carry a strong message of how Vertu wants to associate themselves. First paragraph:

"They want to feel like a winner.

These are people who have made it in life, or are well on their way to doing so. They have enormous pride in their achievements, which are often fained through hard work and determination. They are wealthy individuals who enjoy rewarding and sharing their success. They particularly choose products which are noticeable and the latest thing on the market - triggering admiration and demonstrating superior performance. They like brands such as Rolex, Breitling, Cartier, Baumo & Mercier, BMW and Ferrari."


From what I can tell, the "Winner" message is only for internal marketing purposes. The word hasn't been mentioned in the advertisements shown below.




I'm guessing there is a lot of marketing science involved in picking these words.


Does this not remind you of a jewelry store instead of a cellphone store?


"Our target audience remains the Aspirer, as defined by the SIGMA segmentation." I've been trying to find out what the SIGMA segmentation is but haven't had any luck doing so. If anyone knows or have an idea on where to look, please let me know.



Sample Vertu advertisements. They feel more like accessory adverts than gadget adverts.