Lifestyle brand

Last updated

A lifestyle brand is a brand that attempts to embody the values, aspirations, interests, attitudes, or opinions of a group or a culture for marketing purposes. [1] Lifestyle brands seek to inspire, guide, and motivate people, with the goal of making their products contribute to the definition of the consumer's way of life. As such, they are closely associated with the advertising and other promotions used to gain mind share in their target market. [2] They often operate from an ideology, hoping[ clarification needed ] to attract a relatively high number of people and ultimately become a recognised[ who? ] social phenomenon. [3]

Contents

A lifestyle brand is an ideology created by a brand. [4] An organisation achieves a lifestyle brand by evoking an emotional connection with its customers, [5] creating a consumer desire to be affiliated with a particular group or brand. [6] The consumer will believe that their identity will be reinforced if they publicly associate themselves with a particular lifestyle brand, [5] for example by using a brand on social media. [7]

As individuals have different experiences, choices, and backgrounds (including social class, ethnicity, and culture), an organisation must understand to whom it directs its brand. [7] By constructing a lifestyle brand ideology, an organisation's goal is to become a recognised[ who? ] social phenomenon. [6]

Lifestyle brand marketing uses market research to segment target markets based on psychographics rather than demographics.

Definition

Lifestyle brands operate from the idea[ clarification needed ] that each individual has an identity based on their choices, experiences, and background (e.g., ethnicity, social class, subculture, nationality, etc.). Lifestyle brands evoke emotional connections between a consumer and that consumer's desire to affiliate him or herself with a group. Lifestyle brands are one of the possible ways of consumer self-expression: customers believe that their identity will be reinforced or supplemented if they publicly associate themselves with a lifestyle brand or other symbol-intensive brands. [8]

Factors that influence the consumer decision process

Consumers continually face multiple decisions with regard to product choice due to many competing products. Aspects such as a product's attributes have been shown to be involved in the consumer decision process. [7] A number of factors affect a consumer's choice of product brand, which influences their lifestyle. Consumers choose a brand that is acceptable to their self-image that they are trying to portray. Companies have to re-establish and reposition their products to ensure they meet the lifestyle a consumer is trying to obtain. They have an opportunity to refine their target market which would limit competition due to a reduced number in consumers who would be attracted to their specific brand because of the way they might perceive their lifestyle.[ clarification needed ]

Consumers evaluate product attributes as opposed to a case by case assessment.[ clarification needed ] [9] There is the need for brands to be understood and how they can be influential with regard to consumer's decision making considerations.[ clarification needed ] Three processes are intertwined in choice behaviour: psychological, sociological, and economic processes. [10] Within these three processes lifestyle of the consumer also becomes intertwined with consumers tending to choose a brand they feel is congruent with their self-image, their identity – who they feel they are and what they connect with the most.[ clarification needed ] P Vyncke suggests that a consumer's values, goals, and vision for their life, along with aesthetic style all reflect individual lifestyle. [11]

Consumer self-expression

Consumers use brands to express their identity. [12] The need for self-expression can be related to the need for acceptance within society and the societal view on brands[ clarification needed ] and how different brands portray income or wealth. Lifestyle brands allow customers to express themselves and portray their identity and lifestyle. [10] Lifestyle brands in particular portray a type of meaning that allows a particular reference group to attach themselves based on their lifestyle, values or beliefs. [13]

Perceived brand value

If a consumer loves fashion this will have a positive effect on his/her willingness to pay for a luxury, top-end brand. In order for a lifestyle brand to be successful and dominate market share it needs to enhance customers experiences and provide more than just a product. Consumers are more willing and likely to purchase a brand that establishes itself as to value and satisfaction. Brand value is defined as comparing focal brands with unbranded products that have had the same level or same ways of marketing to consumers, as well as adopting the same product attributes. [14]

Luxury brands target those that have an extreme lifestyle. Price is never a factor. Three categories are identified as measuring brand value: brand loyalty, perceived value and brand awareness/association. Consumers associate themselves with luxury fashion brands to portray their lifestyle and separate them from the rest. [15] Social value is an aspect that relates to consumers' desire to obtain luxury brands that they hope will offer them a symbolic part of a group or culture. There are emotional factors that are connected to the consumption of a luxury brand: for example those that bring pleasure or excitement. [16] [17] [15] Consumers who purchase luxury brands tend to have a strong social function within their social class.

Retail brands

Lifestyle retail branding is the way in which retailers refine their products or services to interest lifestyles in specific market segments. [18] Examples of lifestyle retail brands include the now defunct Laura Ashley, GAP and Benetton. These retailers offer a distinct and recognised set of values to consumers. Over time, a number of retailers have come up with their own brand strategies and are now seen as lifestyle retail brands because they are targeting consumers who adopt their brand to align themselves with a lifestyle they want to obtain. [18]

Psychology

It is important for an organisation to understand its brand's role amongst consumers. To achieve this, an organisation must use the following aspects of the lifestyle brand model. [4]

Brand categorisation

This is defined as a consumer sorting products or brands into categories, based on their past experiences with that brand. [4] It is used to avoid confusion, as consumers may be overwhelmed when comparing one product with an extensive range of other brands of the same product. [19] Categorisation helps consumers evaluate the quality of the product. [7] For example, a consumer may choose to purchase an Apple iPhone over a Huawei mobile phone, as they may believe that the iPhone has a better camera quality. [19]

Brand affect

This aspect is defined as the effect or influence a brand may have upon an organisation and its consumers. [20] For example, Whole Foods can affect a consumer by going the extra mile to offer organic foods products that suit that particular consumer's needs. [21]

Brand personality

This is when a brand encompasses a consistent set of traits in which the consumer can relate. [22] For example, Crossfit is a lifestyle brand which encompasses the idea of pushing yourself for your fitness. This idea is consistent on a global level. Through this lifestyle, consumers or participants have the opportunity to feel a part of a group of healthy, motivated fitness fanatics. [23]

Brand symbolism

This is defined as the strong symbolism that a brand transmits to its consumers, which is adopted for its social benefits. [24] It allows consumers to feel as though they can express themselves through a form of identity, whilst being provided with a sense of belonging to a group. [25] For example, Tiffany & Co. are a jewellery brand which offer affordable and expensive, high-quality jewellery products. When a person sees a consumer wearing its product in public, that person may aim to own a piece of Tiffany & Co. jewellery themselves, with the aim to seek social benefits or fit into a particular group. [26]

Brand attachment

Attachment is brought about when people form an emotional connection between themselves and a brand. [27] For example, Coca-Cola uses advertisements to portray its happy lifestyle to consumers. These advertisements are used to form an emotional connection with the audience. Through the use of the "Open happiness" slogan, consumers may believe that by purchasing and consuming a Coca-Cola drink, they will feel like they are happy and having fun. [27]

Examples

While some lifestyle brands purposely reference existing groups or cultures, others create a disruption within the status quo and propose an innovative viewpoint on the world. The driving force may be the product, the shopping experience, the service, the communication or a combination of these elements. These are often result from visionary goals of the CEO or founder. Early on, Apple's founder Steve Jobs sought to integrate the company's innovations into the industries of music, entertainment, and telecommunications. [28] In 2002, he gifted each 7th- and 8th-grader in the state of Maine with a laptop, in an effort to show that it wasn't "about the technology, it's about what people can do with it." [28] Lee Clow—the chairman of Omnicom Group's TBWA Worldwide and Apple marketing partner—said that Jobs had "a very rigorous view of Apple's tone of voice and the way it talks with people," calling it "very human, very accessible." [28] Burton has built its lifestyle brand by drawing on the snowboarding subculture and Quiksilver has done the same with the surfing community.

Some lifestyle brands align themselves with an ideology. Patagonia proposes an environmentally friendly way of life. Volcom, with the promise "Youth Against Establishment", gives a label and a sense of belonging to those who are "against" the world of adults.

One popular source for lifestyle brands is also national identity. Victoria's Secret purposely evoked the English upper class in its initial branding efforts, while Burberry is recalling the hip London culture[ which? ].

Social or personal image is also a reference point for some lifestyle brands. In the 1990s, Abercrombie & Fitch successfully resuscitated a 1950s ideal —the white, masculine "beefcake"— during a time of political correctness and rejection of 1950s orthodoxy, creating a lifestyle brand based on a preppy, young, Ivy-League lifestyle. Their retail outlets reflect this lifestyle through their luxurious store environment, attractive store associates (models), and their black and white photographs featuring young people "living the Abercrombie & Fitch lifestyle". In doing so, Abercrombie & Fitch has created an outlet for those who lead, or wish to lead or wish to dream about leading this lifestyle. [29]

Companies like home furnishing associate themselves with the term "lifestyle branding" when they are developing their brand portfolio. [30] A furniture company is likely to align new product lines with lifestyle collections that are associated with fashion icons, celebrities and well-known interior designers. For consumers this is reassuring and entices them to purchase home furnishings to be like these iconic influencers. Furniture companies have said that it helps them connect with those consumers who associate other categories with these celebrities. It is their way of tapping into new markets that have not yet been reached. [31] Companies that have celebrity names associated with them provides a certain degree of guarantee to the brand. [32]

A company called Doman Home Furnishings launched a campaign about food and kitchen products to enhance its brand as a lifestyle choice. [33] The campaign used models which had a caption along the lines of 'a slice of life'. This allowed consumers to gain a good understanding of the brand and the lifestyle that it could offer. Home furnishing companies use lifestyle merchandising to promote brand extension. Furthermore, the brand is communicated to consumers through using a designer who is associated with also creating fashion-apparel products. Therefore, this creates a connection between the fashion and homeware brands for these consumers are already associating with or are familiar with the fashion-apparel products.

Expansion

One key indication that a brand has become a lifestyle is when it successfully expands beyond its original product. For example, Nike used to be a product-based company, focusing on making running shoes. But over time, the company and its logo has become associated with the athletic subculture. That 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 it to move into other markets as varied as solar power and green building supplies. Nautica started out as a collection of 6 outerwear pieces but built itself into a global lifestyle brand by having collections for men, women, kids, home and accessories.

A company's status as a lifestyle brand isn't achieved by providing a wide range of products but by the benefit and symbolic value that the customer associates with the brand. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consumerism</span> Socio-economic order that encourages the purchase of goods/services in ever-greater amounts

Consumerism is a social and economic order in which the goals of many individuals include the acquisition of goods and services beyond those that are necessary for survival or for traditional displays of status. Consumerism has historically existed in many societies, with modern consumerism originating in Western Europe before the Steam Revolution and becoming widespread around 1900. In 1899, a book on consumerism published by Thorstein Veblen, called The Theory of the Leisure Class, examined the widespread values and economic institutions emerging along with the widespread "leisure time" at the beginning of the 20th century. In it, Veblen "views the activities and spending habits of this leisure class in terms of conspicuous and vicarious consumption and waste. Both relate to the display of status and not to functionality or usefulness."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pricing</span> Process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products

Pricing is the process whereby a business sets the price at which it will sell its products and services, and may be part of the business's marketing plan. In setting prices, the business will take into account the price at which it could acquire the goods, the manufacturing cost, the marketplace, competition, market condition, brand, and quality of product.

In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is perceived as planned and secures its objectives. Developing a good relationship with target markets is essential for brand management. Tangible elements of brand management include the product itself; its look, price, and packaging, etc. The intangible elements are the experiences that the target markets share with the brand, and also the relationships they have with the brand. A brand manager would oversee all aspects of the consumer's brand association as well as relationships with members of the supply chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consumer behaviour</span> Study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all the activities associated with consuming

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all the activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. Consumer behaviour consists of how the consumer's emotions, attitudes, and preferences affect buying behaviour. Consumer behaviour emerged in the 1940–1950s as a distinct sub-discipline of marketing, but has become an interdisciplinary social science that blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, anthropology, ethnography, ethnology, marketing, and economics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luxury goods</span> Good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises

In economics, a luxury good is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to necessity goods, where demand increases proportionally less than income. Luxury goods is often used synonymously with superior goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brand loyalty</span> Marketing term for a consumers emotional attachment to a given brand

In marketing, brand loyalty describes a consumer's positive feelings towards a brand and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly regardless of deficiencies, a competitor's actions, or changes in the environment. It can also be demonstrated with other behaviors such as positive word-of-mouth advocacy. Corporate brand loyalty is where an individual buys products from the same manufacturer repeatedly and without wavering, rather than from other suppliers. Loyalty implies dedication and should not be confused with habit, its less-than-emotional engagement and commitment. Businesses whose financial and ethical values rest in large part on their brand loyalty are said to use the loyalty business model.

Celebrity branding or celebrity endorsement is a form of advertising campaign or marketing strategy which uses a celebrity's fame or social status to promote a product, brand or service, or to raise awareness about an issue. Marketers use celebrity endorsers in hopes that the positive image of the celebrity endorser will be passed on to the product's or brand's image. Non-profit organizations also use celebrities since a celebrity's frequent mass media coverage reaches a wider audience, thus making celebrities an effective ingredient in fundraising.

The target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to the previously intended audience. In marketing and advertising, the target audience is a particular group of consumer within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message.

A brand community is a concept in marketing and consumer research which postulates that human beings form communities on the basis of attachment to a brand or marque. A brand community refers to structured social relationships in which participants share admiration and connection of a brand that they experience through shared rituals, traditions and a sense of responsibility towards other members. The term often refers to the intersection between brand, individual identity and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visual merchandising</span> Marketing technique emphasizing 3D model displays

Visual merchandising is the practice in the retail industry of optimizing the presentation of products and services to better highlight their features and benefits. The purpose of such visual merchandising is to attract, engage, and motivate the customer towards making a purchase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food marketing</span> Promotion of food for sale

Food marketing is the marketing of food products. It brings together the food producer and the consumer through a chain of marketing activities.

"Youth Marketing" is a term used in the marketing and advertising industry to describe activities to communicate with young people, typically in the age range of 11 to 35. More specifically, there is teen marketing, targeting people age 11 to 17, college marketing, targeting college-age consumers, typically ages 18 to 24, and young adult marketing, targeting ages 25 to 34.


Customer experience is the totality of cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral customer responses during all stages of the consumption process including pre-purchase, consumption, and post-purchase stages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brand</span> Identification for a good or service

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and store value as brand equity for the object identified, to the benefit of the brand's customers, its owners and shareholders. Brand names are sometimes distinguished from generic or store brands.

Social media in the fashion industry refers to the use of social media platforms by fashion designers and users to promote and participate in trends. Over the past several decades, the development of social media has increased along with its usage by consumers. The COVID-19 pandemic was a sharp turn of reliance on the virtual sphere for the industry and consumers alike. Social media has created new channels of advertising for fashion houses to reach their target markets. Since its surge in 2009, luxury fashion brands have used social media to build interactions between the brand and its customers to increase awareness and engagement. The emergence of influencers on social media has created a new way of advertising and maintaining customer relationships in the fashion industry. Numerous social media platforms are used to promote fashion trends, with Instagram and TikTok being the most popular among Generation Y and Z. The overall impact of social media in the fashion industry included the creation of online communities, direct communication between industry leaders and consumers, and criticized ideals that are promoted by the industry through social media.

Massification is a strategy that some luxury companies use in order to attain growth in the sales of product. Some luxury brands have taken and used the concept of massification to allow their brands to grow to accommodate a broader market. As a method of implementing massification, companies have created diffusion lines. Diffusion lines are an offshoot of a company or a designers original line that is less expensive in order to reach a broader market and gain a wider consumer base. Another strategy used in massification is brand extensions, which is when an already established company releases a new product under their name.

Guilt-free consumption (GFC) is a pattern of consumption based on the minimization of the sense of guilt which consumers incur when purchasing products or commercial services.

The wanghong economy [internet celebrity economy] refers to the Chinese digital economy based on influencer marketing through social media platforms. Wanghong is the Chinese term for internet celebrity. Chinese wanghong celebrities attract the attention of internet users, which can translate into profit through e-commerce and online advertising.

Hype in marketing is a strategy of using extreme publicity. Hype as a modern marketing strategy is closely associated with social media.

The term "fashion brand" includes all the brands that operate within the fashion industry. A fashion brand combines symbolism, style, and experiential elements, and it needs to differentiate its products and coordinate its supply chain to succeed in the market. Consumers commonly employ brands as a means of expressing either their genuine identity or an idealized self-image that they aspire to achieve.

References

  1. Saviolo & Marazza (2012) , p. 16
  2. Hancock, Joseph (2016). Brand/Story: Cases and Explorations in Fashion Branding. Fairchild Books, Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
  3. 1 2 Saviolo, Stefania; Marazza, Antonio (2012). Lifestyle Brands - A Guide to Aspirational Marketing. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-1137285928.
  4. 1 2 3 Schmitt, B (2012). "The consumer psychology of brands". Journal of Consumer Psychology . 22 (1): 7–17. doi:10.1016/j.jcps.2011.09.005.
  5. 1 2 Kim, E.; Brandon, L. (2010). "Modeling brand equity for lifestyle brand extensions: A strategic approach into generation Y vs. baby boomers". Journal of Global Marketing Science. 20 (1): 35–48. doi:10.1080/12297119.2010.9707342. S2CID   167534674.
  6. 1 2 Austin, C. G.; Matos, G. (2013). "Lifestyle Brands: The Elephant in the Room". Advances in Consumer Research. 41: 653–41655.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Catalin, M. C.; Andreea, P. (2014). "Brands as a Mean of Consumer Self-expression and Desired Personal Lifestyle". Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 109: 103–107. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.427 .
  8. Chernev, A.; Hamilton, R.; Gal D. (2011). "Competing for Consumer Identity: Limits to Self-Expression and the Perils of Lifestyle Branding". Journal of Marketing. 75 (3): 66–82. doi:10.1509/jmkg.75.3.66. S2CID   14179708.
  9. Ainslie, A.; Rosii, P. E. (1998). "Similarities in choice behavior across product categories". Marketing Science. 17 (2): 91–106. doi:10.1287/mksc.17.2.91. S2CID   154373463.
  10. 1 2 Keller, K. L. (2008). Strategic brand management: Building, measuring and managing brand equity. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  11. Vyncke, P (2002). "Lifestyle Segmentation: From Attitudes, Interests and Opinions, to Values, Aesthetic Styles, Life Visions and Media Preferences". European Journal of Communication. 17 (4): 445–463. doi:10.1177/02673231020170040301. S2CID   146207852.
  12. Chernev, A.; Hamilton, R.; Gal, D. (2011). "Competing for Consumer Identity: Limits to Self-Expression and the Perils of Lifestyle Branding". Journal of Marketing. 75 (1): 66–82. doi:10.1509/jmkg.75.3.66. S2CID   14179708.
  13. Escalas, J. E.; Bettman, J. R. (2005). "Self Construal, Reference Groups, and Brand Meaning". Journal of Consumer Research. 32 (3): 378–389. doi:10.1086/497549. S2CID   8246081.
  14. Yoo, B.; Donthu, N. (2001). "Developing and validating a multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale". Journal of Business Research. 52 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1016/S0148-2963(99)00098-3.
  15. 1 2 Vigneron, F.; Johnson, L. W. (2004). "Measuring perceptions of brand luxury". Journal of Brand Management. 11 (6): 484–503. doi:10.1057/palgrave.bm.2540194. S2CID   167517463.
  16. Choi, E.; Kim, M. (2003). "Comparison of consumers' apparel purchasing behavior in the Internet retail, shopping mall, and cable TV home shopping". Clothing Culture Study. 11 (6): 808–825.
  17. Kim, M.; Kim, S.; Lee, Y. (2010). "The effect of distribution channel diversification of foreign luxury fashion brand on consumers' brand value and loyalty in Korean market". Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 17 (4): 286–293. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2010.02.006.
  18. 1 2 Helman, D.; Chernatony, L. (1999). "Exploring the Development of Lifestyle Retail Brands". Service Industries Journal. 19 (2): 49–68. doi:10.1080/02642069900000018.
  19. 1 2 Nenycz-Thiel, M.; Romaniuk, J. (2016). "Understanding premium private labels: A consumer categorization approach". Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 29: 2922–2930. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.10.008.
  20. Orzan, G.; Platon, O.; Stefanescu, C. D.; Orzan, M. (2016). "Conceptual model regarding the influence of social media marketing communication on brand trust, brand affect and brand loyalty". Economic Computation & Economic Cybernetics Studies & Research. 50 (1): 141–156.
  21. Yi, X.; Batra, R.; Siqing, P. (2015). "An Extended Model of Preference Formation Between Global and Local Brands: The Roles of Identity Expressiveness, Trust, and Affect". Journal of International Marketing. 23 (1): 50–71. doi:10.1509/jim.14.0009. S2CID   154349897.
  22. Cohen, R. J. (2014). "Brand Personification: Introduction and Overview". Psychology & Marketing. 31 (1): 1–30. doi:10.1002/mar.20671.
  23. Qing, Y.; Rong, C.; Xiaobing, X. (2015). "Consistency between consumer personality and brand personality influences brand attachment". Social Behavior & Personality. 43 (9): 1419–1427. doi:10.2224/sbp.2015.43.9.1419.
  24. Kubat, U.; Swaminathan, V. (2015). "Crossing the cultural divide through bilingual advertising: The moderating role of brand cultural symbolism". International Journal of Research in Marketing. 32 (4): 354–362. doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2015.04.003.
  25. Wu, L.; Klink, R. R.; Guo, J. (2013). "Creating Gender Brand Personality with Brand Names: The Effects of Phonetic Symbolism". Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. 21 (3): 319–330. doi:10.2753/MTP1069-6679210306. S2CID   143648566.
  26. Athaide, G. A.; Klink, R. R. (2012). "Creating Global Brand Names: The Use of Sound Symbolism". Journal of Global Marketing. 25 (4): 202–212. doi:10.1080/08911762.2012.744123. S2CID   153505171.
  27. 1 2 Malär, L.; Krohmer, H.; Hoyer, W. D.; Nyffenegger, B. (2011). "Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self". Journal of Marketing. 75 (4): 35–52. doi:10.1509/jmkg.75.4.35. S2CID   168033342.
  28. 1 2 3 Cuneo, Alice Z.; Elkin, Tobi; Kim, Hank; Stanley, T.L. (December 15, 2003). "Apple transcends as lifestyle brand". Advertising Age. No. 74(50):S-2-S-6.
  29. Denizet-Lewis, Benoit (2006-01-24). "The man behind Abercrombie & Fitch". Salon.com. Retrieved Jan 24, 2006.
  30. "Lexington offering dealer incentives for market orders". Furniture Today. April 13, 2009.
  31. Combs, H. E. (March 1, 2010), Licensing: Big names still in demand
  32. Clow, K. E.; James, K. E.; Sisk, S. E.; Cole, S. H. (2011). "Source credibility, visual strategy and the model in print advertisements". Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness. 5 (3): 24–31.
  33. "Domain Home Fashions Launches Internet Lifestyle Marketing Campaign". Furniture World Magazine. 2004.