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responses to premium mediocre but is also worth
examining from the point of view of marketing
departments. Crucially, premium mediocre
doesn’t means something is bad — who doesn’t
want extra legroom and avocados every day?
— it’s just about giving the experience a name.
Delivering the strongest business insights
Would companies have been able to get away in the world of commercial aviation.
with calling something signature, or luxury,
when it manifestly wasn’t 10, 20, or 30 years
ago? Doubtful. Airline Weekly is our paid subscription service that delivers the strongest
business coverage of commercial aviation available in the market. Our signature
In 2016, market research company Nielsen analyzed newsletter is read by 9 out of 10 airline CEOs and other senior-level executives in
data from more than 30,000 consumers in 63
countries to look at consumer attitudes toward aviation, making it a must-have intelligence platform for travel professionals.
premium, which it defined as “goods that cost
at least 20 percent more than average price for
the category.” In the coming months we will be rolling out our new and improved
PREMIUM MEDIOCRE IS
What it found was that premium demand is truly subscription platform. What this means for you:
global. Between 2012 and 2014, the segment grew
21 percent in Southeast Asia and 23 percent over A PHRASE FIT FOR OUR
the same period in China.
SLICED-AND-DICED TIMES
Nielsen wasn’t looking particularly at the travel
sector, but even viewing examples elsewhere it WHERE COMPANIES ARE
is easy to draw similar conclusions.
INCREASINGLY LOOKING
“In many cases, successful innovation results from 48 signature reports annually, fresh in Enhanced user experience
reimagining traditional category definitions,” FOR NEW WAYS TO SELL your inbox on Monday mornings and access
said Liana Lubel, senior vice president of the
Nielsen Innovation Practice. “For example, the US AVERAGE PRODUCTS AT
dairy category in the U.S. was stagnant but, by
redefining the category to include dairy alter- LUXURY PRICES.
natives such as almond milk, brands were able
to offer more premium products, and therefore
bring new consumers into the category and
re-engage lapsed consumers.”
Customized accounts for a Collaboration with Skift Airline
For decades, the most successful brands have centralized hub of information Innovation Report for enhanced analysis
been able to redefine their product offering, thus
improving profits. But are we facing a backlash?

We live in an age of social anxiety where we
signal what we are thinking though our choice Visit airlineweekly.skift.com to sign up for a free trial or subscribe.
of sandwiches — which, if you believe some
people, is the reason why millennials can’t afford
to buy a house. Contact Daniel Calabrese, dc@skift.com,
to learn about gaining team and company access.
It’s easy to forget that premium mediocre isn’t
a bad thing, per se, it’s just that eventually
consumers are going to wise up.

18 Skift