Lifestyle Branding: Is it Right for Your Business?

Lifestyle Branding: Is It Right for Your Business?
Hey everyone, Jerry with Vinci Digital. If you own or manage a company, you probably already know how important branding is in your growth strategy. Your brand is much more than a name and logo design—it’s the very essence of your company. Your brand includes your aesthetic, characteristics, voice, positioning and strategy. But, for some companies, branding doesn’t just stop with their products and services—they become synonymous with a lifestyle. Could lifestyle branding be the right move for your company? Do you even know what lifestyle branding is? If you answered no to either of these questions, your brand might be fucked, or at the very least, missing out on a huge opportunity to connect on an emotional level with your target audience.

When you think about a niche lifestyle, certain brands are likely to come to mind. For example, who pops into your head when you think about sports or fitness? What about living a healthy and mindful lifestyle? More than likely, you could think of a brand or two for any niche lifestyle you are somewhat familiar with.
Brands have become very good at making themselves part of more than just the purchase experience. With marketing, brands are inserting themselves into the very lifestyle itself.

So why is lifestyle branding so important today? Well, let's face it. The average customer is sick and tired of traditional advertising they see online or across social media. Your audience doesn't want to be sold to by their favorite brands, they want to RELATE to their favorite brands. They want an incredible experience, they want to be inspired and motivated to be a part of something bigger and better than just a product or service. Lifestyle brands earn their customers by giving them more than the product. For a lifestyle brand, a community forms around the brand, incorporating the brand with people who live the shared lifestyle niche. The reality of these brands is at a certain point, the line between brand and personal identity becomes slightly blurred. The brand BECOMES PART OF THE INDIVIDUAL and brings them into a community of people who have the brand in common. Those communities tend to share many of the same characteristics, beliefs, and values foundational to the brand so much so that they become intertwined. So let's dig into a few brands that have intertwined the lifestyle of their target audience with their brand.

First, and I feel like we mention them a lot, is Apple. They might very well be one of the most well-known brands of all time, and has become a lifestyle for many users. If we look at their share of the cell phone industry, you are either Apple—or Android. Other brands, like Samsung and Nokia, aren’t on the same level at all and get lumped into the Android or non-apple category. This doesn’t mean everyone loves Apple—quite the opposite. For those who do LOVE Apple, the company has a very loyal following and has aligned the Apple brand with creative, innovative, and fashion-forward types. In addition, its rare to see someone who has adopted Apple as part of their lifestyle with only one Apple product. Most Apple lovers I know have the phone, a laptop or desktop, iPad, Air Pods, and possibly even the apple watch or Apple TV.

Second, is North Face. When you think of this outdoor and recreational clothing brand, you immediately think of physical activities like hiking and trekking and even any lifestyle that involves traveling. Through years of solid branding and messaging, North Face has positioned themselves as a prominent premium expedition brand, committed to altering the place we are living for the better by decreasing our carbon footprint which enables future generations to experience and take pleasure in the outdoors. North face has also done an excellent job of appealing separately and uniquely to artists, environmental lobbyists, and professional athletes.

These are just a few examples so make sure to check out our latest article on the Vinci Blog to learn more about Lifestyle branding and see some other great examples of top lifestyle brands that are killing it in their niche markets. Are you still not sure if lifestyle branding would work for your business? That's a great question to ponder. Lifestyle branding works best for companies that are trying to target a niche audience. If you can pinpoint a very specific group of people who want and need what your brand has to offer AND that product or service contributes to their lifestyle or supports it in a meaningful way, than your business might be a good candidate for lifestyle branding.