We understand the importance of connecting with your audience on a deeper level. It’s not just about selling products, it’s about answering an emotional desire and helping your audience connect with a more ideal version of themselves.That’s the essence of how lifestyle branding evolves.
What’s more, a strong brand identity is crucial to successfully selling the lifestyle you’re promoting. With the right strategies, you can create a community of customers who share your values and ideals, encouraging like-minded people to buy into the lifestyle and brand you’re selling.
So if you’re a brand owner interested in lifestyle branding or marketing manager looking to take your brand to the next level, I invite you to explore this document. Inside, you’ll find valuable insights and strategies for building a strong brand.
1. Having a professional background can elevate your game
People tend to believe everything that doctors or power figures tell them, making an authority behind your brand a powerful selling tool. You can be in the beauty, fashion, wellness, or food industries, leveraging the authority works.
Awards or certifications can be helpful, but if you can also show a brand ambassador who is, for example, an MD or a professional expert in the field, you’ll have an unfair advantage. Augustinus Bader, a beauty brand, has achieved great success using this strategy. Their founder is a biomedical scientist and one of the foremost experts in the field of regenerative medicine. Not every brand can have such a founder, but a brand ambassador can definitely help raise credibility to the next level.
This is where the power of lifestyle branding comes into play. It is about aligning your brand with the aspirations, values, and interests of your target audience. It can make the connection between your brand and consumers more meaningful and authentic. For instance, if your brand ambassador embodies the lifestyle that your customers aspire to, they can effectively convey the message of your brand and enhance its image.
2. Make your audience experience your product by any means
Selling status, feelings, existence, and prestige is the name of the game, but to make it happen, people gotta buy it first. That’s where the ‘non-return effect‘ comes in: once they’ve tasted the luxury and quality you offer, it’s tough for them to turn back. That’s why fashion brands like Saint Laurent and Versace push their accessories like sunglasses, purses, and hats, so customers can get a taste of the high life. Similarly, in industries such as beauty and food supplements, companies often offer samples to allow customers to try their products and experience the benefits for themselves.
Once they’re hooked, customers tend to stick around, not just for the product but for what it represents in their lives. That’s why customer retention rates are sky-high, and why even if the return on marketing spends is negative, you gotta keep putting money in the game. The lifetime value of these brands is huge, and the payoff is worth it.
3. Communicate according to your positioning
We know you’re savvy enough to understand where your brand fits in the hierarchy. If you have a premium brand, you are obliged to communicate its quality/price ratio and comparability. Additionally, you should educate your target market and highlight what sets you apart from the rest. Emphasize that for their investment, they will receive exceptional value. People who buy premium products expect a return on investment for every dollar spent.
Athletic Greens is an impressive case study when it comes to successful lifestyle branding. They not only sell a product – a premium green supplement – but also the lifestyle associated with it: health-conscious, energetic, and holistic.
They effectively used lifestyle branding strategies to increase their annual revenue from $120M to a staggering $500M in just one year. A major factor in this growth was their marketing approach which involved partnering with influencers who embody the lifestyle their products promote, such as high-performance athletes and fitness professionals. This not only grew their brand visibility but also resonated deeply with their target customers who aspire to such a lifestyle.
Their packaging, advertising, and content all emphasize the lifestyle benefits of using their products – improving energy, health, and performance. Athletic Greens managed to differentiate themselves in the highly competitive supplement market by selling more than a product; they were selling an aspirational lifestyle.
This case illustrates the power of lifestyle branding, particularly when it’s authentically integrated into every aspect of a brand. The impressive growth Athletic Greens achieved by leveraging this strategy is a testament to its effectiveness.
However, as a luxury brand, you are banned from emphasizing these elements in your messages. Instead, focus on the exclusivity, the rarity, the unmatched craftsmanship, and the overall dreamy aura of what you’re selling. That’s how you show off your buyer’s capacity to exceed in lifestyle branding.
4. Use category to category marketing
Brands often fall into the trap of playing the comparison game, especially during product launches, trying to one-up their competitors with better products and features. But that’s a losing strategy in the long run. The smart move during a product launch is to carve out a new category that your brand can own and position yourself as the go-to choice in that category.
As the saying goes, ‘better is a debate, different is a choice.‘ Peloton nailed this during the pandemic by redefining fitness with their hardware-plus-subscription model. They didn’t just compete with gyms – they created a whole new category and made it theirs. And that’s the key to success in lifestyle branding: don’t be better, be different. Find your own blue ocean and swim in it.
Update: The company is now struggling with big job cuts, changes in top jobs, and having to fix unsafe products. The return of gym workouts has caused the company’s customer numbers to drop for the first time. But the new boss, Barry McCarthy, is trying different ways to get more people to buy Peloton products and is hoping for a big comeback. It’s now a waiting game to see if Peloton can bounce back in this world after the pandemic.
5. Spend more on brand image
In the world of lifestyle branding, customers aren’t sold – they’re attracted. Traditional paid campaigns just won’t cut it. To win over your audience, you need to build an image that resonates with them first, and then convert them into buyers. Forget about flashy sales tactics and aggressive conversion campaigns – they’re a waste of your time and money. Your brand needs a different approach. Look to brands like DIESEL who tell their story with big visuals and bold statements that capture the imagination. It’s not about selling a product – it’s about creating an emotional connection with your audience.
And social media? It’s your secret weapon. Platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok are tailor-made for building your brand and showcasing its unique characteristics. But remember: image comes first, and sales come second. Use social media to create a buzz, not to push sales.
Build a passionate following about your brand, and the sales will follow.
+1 No story, no lifestyle branding
Without storytelling, your brand is functional. Your products need to have an emotional attachment and stories behind them. This is where lifestyle branding comes into play. By giving your products a unique backstory, you can differentiate yourself from competitors and attract customers who are looking for something more than just a functional product. What if your brand is not old? There are 3 levels of history you can use. (1)True history when a brand has a long past, like Veuve Clicquot that was founded in 1772. (2)Reappropriation of true historical elements. In this case, the brand imports some historical elements into its name or key messages. Like the Dom Pérignon champagne, which borrowed its name from Pierre Pérignon who created the wine of Versailles in the 17th century. (3)Creation of a new legend. Like Ralph Lauren who played the incarnation of the Great Gatsby.
So, take the time to craft a compelling narrative that resonates with your target audience and brings your brand to life.
The Lifestyle Branding Strategy That Sells
The way smart lifestyle brands are managing their content is through the Omnipresence Strategy. Evolut has been using this strategic method for a while, and we have achieved tremendous results. The benefits of this lifestyle branding strategy are endless.
Diverse Content Formats: In Omnipresence, we use (1) Value, (2) Demonstration, (3) Testimonial, (4) Lifestyle and (5) CTA (sales) content types. These can be single images, multiple images (carousel), GIFs, memes, infographics, short-form videos, and UGC video formats. This results in a total of 35 types of content when considering the combination of content types and formats (5 types x 7 formats).
Consistent Brand Visibility: The omnipresence strategy ensures your brand remains consistently in front of your audience, increasing brand visibility and awareness across multiple platforms.
Build Customer Loyalty: By continuously providing value and maintaining a constant presence through the different content types, this strategy helps foster long-term customer relationships and loyalty.
Deliver Value and Build Trust: Use diverse content types such as value ads, demonstrations, and testimonials to educate, entertain, and gain trust, establishing your brand as an authoritative voice in your niche. Instead of randomly creating content, this strategy gives you a framework and a guiding star.
Increase Conversion Rates: Integrate call-to-action ads within your campaign to effectively guide potential customers through the buyer’s journey, ultimately increasing conversion rates after you “worked” on your audiences with your value, demonstration, testimonial and lifestyle content.
The Evolut Way of Lifestyle Branding
At Evolut, we specialize in lifestyle branding, whether it’s building awareness for brands that sell through retailers or establishing an international e-commerce presence for brands.
If you are a new venture, our guide on how to start a lifestyle brand can probably help.
If you are an established player who needs help in scaling, let’s have a chat. If you would prefer to learn more about us or our knowledge, check out our lifestyle marketing blog with 30+ articles on lifestyle branding and specialized lifestyle branding strategies.
