After my last blog, I have been reflecting on how each brand we fit into our life builds and reflects our self-image. Whether it is the clothes we wear, food we eat, the watch on our wrist, pens we write with, car we drive, the type of technology we use and even down to the bedsheets we put on our bed; each little decision we make, whether subconscious or conscious, are reflecting the values we hold as well as the image we hold of ourselves.
An article I found titled “Brands as a means of consumer self-expression and desired personal lifestyle” written by Munteanu Claudiu Cătălin and Pagalea Andreea goes into depth on the subject.
As stated by Cătălin and Andreea, “Customers rely on brands with a desirable brand identity to express their own identity and they tend to prefer brands that are convergent with their identity as the primary means of expressing a unique image about their personal lifestyle”.
We learn that consumers analyze how a brand emulates their own values and how their choice will showcase their self-desired image. Most of the time this is not a conscious thought or behavior but related to the associations we hold within ourselves. We sometimes go as far as to choose image over discomfort to maintain this self-image. This can be referred to as “status signaling”. Status signaling is “tangible indicators of some intangible quality that increases a person’s social status or group affiliation”. A person does not buy a Rolex to keep track of time but to show the world that they can afford a Rolex.
Overall, I believe Vyncke put it perfectly when he said, “lifestyle can be seen as a sum of daily life patterns that each individual deliberately and voluntarily applies through his daily life (Vyncke, 2002)”, and it is my interpretation that consumers then choose brands that fit into this lifestyle and reinforce our self-image.
To summarize…
- The brands we use showcases and reinforces our personal identities.
- Consumers use brands that correlate with their own values, life vision, aesthetic style, and life goal.
- Status signaling is when we use material items to showcase our social status.
To learn more, visit https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042813050593?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=7bb74a287a97271f.
