Did you know that all brands have fans, and many have something called Superfans, or in other words, an avid and loyal fan following.
In fact, most highly successful brands started out as a simple brand (a product, an event, a band, etc.) hoping to make it big, and many of those turned into lifestyle brands -- some intentionally, and others by hard work, fate and chance. A successful lifestyle brand with Superfans has fans that are so crazy about the brand that they identify with its core values, mission and vision, along with its followers, the lifestyle it pushes and so on. When hard work, strategic planning and magic happens, fans come in drones and will purchase most anything the brand comes out with. Why? Because they found community and like-mindedness in the brand and they want to be a part of.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are major methods to the madness of lifestyle branding and much of the time, unless you are a major influencer, creating Superfans takes diligent and strategic work.
Let's look at the San Francisco based past-band, "Grateful Dead" as a prime example. They began as a band -- doing shows, selling merchandise -- stickers, shirts, hats, vinyls, you name it, they sold it. They created a fan club, and eventually a cult-like (meaning it in the best of ways) following.
They were such a massive brand and marketing machine, that they created their own subculture, and their fans proudly began referring to themselves as,
“Dead Heads.” The fans lived, ate, and breathed the Grateful Dead. The band grossed $250 million from 2015-2020 in concerts alone - averaging box office sales of $2.3 million per concert, according to Pollstar.
Let's live and learn folks.????
Niké motivates people to make it happen, live your best life, and say yes to health, with their famous slogan - Just Do it! Their marketing campaigns are genius. Niké has capitalized on merch -- shoe, apparel, and gear. They follow the trends and the fans follow Niké. Niké solidifies itself as the ultimate sports lifestyle brand - marketing to the health, sports, and wellness-minded folks.
In short, a lifestyle brand will embody the values, aspirations, interests, attitudes, and/or opinions of a group/sub-culture and target their marketing to keep new fans coming and existing fans intrigued with the next best product, album, or event.
If you weren’t yet aware, I was featured in an article about Lifestyle Branding with Arianna Huffington's publication, Thrive Global. Check it out HERE, or you can Google, Tanya Lou Armstrong, Thrive Global for the full article.
Sign up for my free Superfan workshop, where I’ll teach you how to scale and create programs that cater to your Superfans. I’ll also be teaching how to take your brand and begin turning it into a money-generating Lifestyle Brand.
You can sign up here:
With fondest wishes for you and your continued success,
Tanya Lou