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Lifestyle Brand: A Guide to Aspirational Marketing tackles the fascinating question of why certain brands become so successful that consumers are drawn to them – even without the end-of-year sales, advertising campaigns and promotional efforts that lesser brands need for survival in the marketplace. These are the brands that consumers find essential and irreplaceable, for a world without them would darken their lives (p. 2).
The heart of the book focuses on brands that the authors place in the lifestyle category; however, understanding how lifestyle brands are unique takes a bit of grounding that is well worth the effort. In Chapter 2, authors Stefania Saviolo and Antonio Marazza draw from their different backgrounds of academia and management consulting to provide context for the way brands are built and to introduce readers to various models that measure brand value, including the Customer-Based Brand Equity model, the Brand Value Pyramid, Young & Rubicam’s Brand Asset Valuator and BrandZ (pp. 18-26). These models look at brands in different ways but provide important insights for understanding why consumers assign meaning to brands and become ambassadors, fans and brand champions.
Next, the authors take readers through a mapping of brands based on their ability to deliver functional, emotional and social benefits. Chapter 3 develops the concept of “Symbol Intensive Brands” – those that have emotional and social benefits, unlike those that rely solely on functional benefits. Among the five types of symbol intensive brands, authority and solution brands are highly respected leaders within their segment; however, the icon, cult and lifestyle brands have the advantage of intangible qualities that promote storytelling. For example, icon brands carry universal values such as...