Lifestyle brand
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A lifestyle brand is a brand that attempts to embody the values and aspirations of a group or culture for purposes of marketing.
Each individual has an identity based on their choices, experiences, and background (e.g. ethnicity, social class, subculture, nationality, etc.). A lifestyle brand aims to sell product by convincing potential customers that this identity will be reinforced or supplemented if they publicly associate themselves with the brand.
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[edit] Sources
Many lifestyle brands purposely refer to existing groups or cultures.
A prototypical lifestyle brand is Abercrombie & Fitch. A&F has created a lifestyle based on a preppy, young Ivy League lifestyle. Their retail outlets reflect this lifestyle through their luxurious store environment, admirable store associates (models), and their black and white photographs featuring young people living the Abercrombie lifestyle. In doing so, Abercrombie & Fitch has created an outlet for those who lead, or wish to lead this lifestyle.
One popular source for lifestyle brands is national identity. Victoria's Secret purposely evoked the English upper class in its initial branding efforts, while Louis Vuitton continues to draw on the opulent tradition of the French aristocracy.
Another source of lifestyle brands is subcultures. Burton has built its lifestyle brand by drawing on the snowboarding subculture and Quiksilver has done the same with the surfing community.
Brands that "represent" specific stereotypic or lifestyle demographic focus on evoking emotional connections between a consumer and that consumer's desire to affiliate him or herself with the represented demographic.
[edit] Success
One key indication that a brand has become a lifestyle is when it successfully extends beyond its original product category. For example, Nike used to be a product-focused company focusing on making running shoes. But over time, the company and its logo has become associated with the athlete subculture. This has allowed Nike to expand into related athletic categories, such as sports equipment and apparel. Gaiam started out as a yoga company, but has had great success in developing a lifestyle brand, which has allowed them to move into other markets as varied as solar power and green building supplies.
It appears that for some companies, an important component of becoming a lifestyle brand is expanding their product line to their company name and image with several products associated with a group or culture. Examples include Calvin Klein licensing its name to a perfume called CKOne, and Harley Davidson selling branded merchandise to its customers. By this measure, other successful lifestyle brands include Caterpillar, John Deere, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Gucci.
Although lifestyle brands are relatively uncommon in the electronics and computer industries[citation needed] , Apple became a lifestyle brand after it expanded its market share into the music industry through its iPod digital music player. The iPod and the ubiquitous white headphones included are also deemed a fashion accessory by some and may be considered a status symbol, although this is somewhat debatable.
[edit] Luxury
Lifestyle brands have gained an increased share[citation needed] of luxury market (e.g. Armani Nobu Restaurant in Milan). Luxury-based lifestyle brands such as Gucci, Armani, Rolex, Ralph Lauren, Esteban Robinson, and Louis Vuitton allow consumers to buy products that they associate with a better, more luxurious life.[citation needed]
[edit] Dangers
Many companies have unsuccessfully attempted to turn their brands into lifestyle brands. Certain brands appear to lack the cachet or excitement to make the transition. Both McDonalds and Microsoft have attempted to become lifestyle brands in the last decade, and had marginal success at best.[citation needed] Starbucks has also struggled on this front, with failed or struggling attempts to expand into music, magazines, and merchandising.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Not Every Brand is a Lifestyle Brand - BusinessWeek
- Luxury Products as Lifestyle Brands - Knowledge@Wharton
