In a recent BusinessWeek column, marketing editor Burt Helm describes how luxury brands have to tweak their message in a recession. Helm points out a recent Gallup survey where 49% of people making $90,000 or more a year rated economic conditions as “poor,” a 23-point increase since early September.

Luxury brands “tweaking their message” means high-end companies are being forced to point out the useful features and practical reasons to fork over $145 for eye cream or $3,500 for a washer-and-dryer set. Helm quotes Lexus’ North American marketing chief who describes the current economic climate as “a time to be more rational.”