A co-worker of mine (who also happens to be a world class bass player: The Firm, Blue Murder), Tony Franklin, recently brought up the concept of “Lifestyle.” Tony and I were discussing it from a marketing standpoint, which seems to be a keyword for most company’s initiatives. What I found out is that many companies who talk about lifestyle marketing don’t really understand the concept. Tony told me he found this definition on Wikipedia:
“A lifestyle is a characteristic bundle of behaviors that makes sense to both others and oneself in a given time and place, including social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress.
The behaviors and practices within lifestyles are a mixture of habits, conventional ways of doing things, and reasoned actions.
A lifestyle typically also reflects an individual’s attitudes, values or worldview. Therefore, a lifestyle is a means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity.”
The last paragraph really says it all. When we get to a certain age in our development (for me it was around 14), we began to realize we are individuals, with our own unique qualities. So what’s the first thing we do to express that individuality? We seek others who share the same interests as us (I recall a guy who had a poster in his office that proclaimed, “You are truly unique, just like everybody else”). A Paradox? Not at all, because in that group will be born leaders who will show us the way to individual expression. Call it a roll model if you’d like, but their guidance bestows upon us something to emulate or associate with. And in the bigger picture, celebrities, places and things can have a powerful influence on our lifestyles and buying habits, so brands associated with them can also be perceived as having the Cool Factor
. Simply put, coolness by association.
So let’s demonstrate this through real world examples. One of the best companies at selling and promoting lifestyle is Harley Davidson. They couldn’t have flourished selling $25,000.00 motorcycles if the company only sold to the true vagabond biker. That’s why the typical Harley rider today averages around 50 years old and could very well be a doctor, lawyer or business professional. By trading their business duds for a HD uniform (riders refer to the HD in Harley clothing as hundred dollars because that’s what a typical article costs), the weekend rider can borrow a little of that rebel equity without actually having to terrorize a town as Marlon Brando’s biker gang did in The Wild One. In fact, one doesn’t have to even ride a Harley; one can simply don a Harley logoed black leather jacket with branded Harley T-shirt and the bad dude or dudette image is transferred to you. It’s no wonder that licensed apparel is reported to be up to 20 percent of Harley’s gross profits.
What about celebrities? That’s where it gets tricky. You may be a big fan of the NBA Champion Lakers team and playoff MVP Kobe Bryant, so you may very well sport the team jersey adorned with Bryant’s number 8. But you may not want to go as far as dressing like Kobe does off court, wearing his cologne, or listening to the same music. You may not even want to pick up a basketball anymore if you are middle-aged so his lifestyle really isn’t your lifestyle. Okay, but if you are middle-aged, you can still swing a golf club so you may want to hit Nike balls like Tiger, or wear his golf clothing, but Woods appearing in ads for Buick didn’t really make most people want to drive one. However, for a more youthful demographic, if you are a fan of X-Game champ and Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White, you may emulate everything his does; from his over-the-top style of snowboarding, his clothing, both on and off the slopes, the music he listens to (a heavy dose of old school Led Zep) and even his guitar playing. Speaking of guitar playing, that’s a lifestyle closer to my home. I was inspired by the likes of The Beatles, Stones, The Who, the Kinks, Yardbirds and many more bands launched in the 1960’s “British Invasion.” I knew it wasn’t enough just to play guitar like them, I wanted to look like them (mod fashions, long hair), act like them, and even follow their politics (as John and Yoko preached, “The war is over if you want it”). Getting a guitar doesn’t make you cool overnight, but emulating the leaders and following their guidance, in whatever endeavor you partake in, is the surest way to get the right roadmap.
