The luxury goods and services sector can be seen as one where the sales and marketing budgets are similarly high-end. This is rarely anything near the case. Expenditure in this sector, like any other, must be aligned to business strategy, sales objectives and a realistic ROI. The dramatic downturn in markets including fashion, property, travel and automotive has seen some begin to crumble but, surprisingly, some going from strength to strength. Somewhat less surprisingly, is that the majority of those out-performing expectations are those that are well run businesses that underpin strong brands.