110 • 100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS
By making your brand synonymous with the hobbies and
aspirations of a particular cultural movement, you can massively
increase the appeal of your product.
The idea
It is one thing to have a well-respected brand. It is another thing
entirely to have a brand that encapsulates an entire culture, identity,
and lifestyle. Brands that achieve this are known as “lifestyle
brands.”
Used by customers to show membership of a particular cultural
movement, lifestyle brands can be a form of wordless communication
within society. They can also reinforce consumers’ esteem and
perception of themselves.
Two areas that lifestyle brands draw on are national identity and
subcultures. Lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret sought in its early
marketing campaigns to evoke the British upper class. Likewise,
successful luxury lifestyle brand Louis Vuitton draws on the opulent
image of the French aristocracy.
Subcultures—particularly in music and sport—lend themselves
well to lifestyle brands. Surf and sport brand Quiksilver embodies
the modern lifestyle brand. Retailing clothes, wetsuits, surfwear,
and sunglasses, it has created sponsorship deals with 500 board
sport professionals. To promote its presence in the surfi ng lifestyle,
it sponsors the annual elite Quiksilver Pro tournament. All of this
effort has paid off: it is a market leader in the surfi ng industry, a
trendy fashion label for surfers and non-surfers, and a member of