Lifestyle Brand - Success

Success

One key indication that a brand has become a lifestyle is when it successfully extends beyond its original product category. For example, Nike used to be a product-focused company focusing on making running shoes. But over time, the company and its logo has become associated with the athlete subculture. This 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 them to move into other markets as varied as solar power and green building supplies.

It appears that for some companies, an important component of becoming a lifestyle brand is expanding their product line to their company name and image with several products associated with a group or culture. Examples include Calvin Klein licensing its name to a perfume called CKOne, and Harley Davidson selling branded merchandise to its customers. By this measure, other successful lifestyle brands include Caterpillar, John Deere, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Gucci.

Although lifestyle brands are relatively uncommon in the electronics and computer industries, Apple became a lifestyle brand after it expanded its market share into the music industry through its iPod digital music player. The iPod and the ubiquitous white headphones included are also deemed a fashion accessory by some and may be considered a status symbol, although this is somewhat debatable.