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Lifestyle has a great impact on consumer behaviour and brand preferences. Very often, consumers tend to choose brands that are considered “appropriate” for their self-image. Accordingly, companies should try to position their brands in order to fit into consumers’ lifestyle

Lifestyle has a great impact on consumer behaviour and brand preferences. Very often, consumers tend to choose brands that are considered “appropriate” for their self-image. Accordingly, companies should try to position their brands in order to fit into consumers’ lifestyle.

Consumers often seek new ways in which they can express their personal identity in addition to expressing their identity through the everyday choices they make. As a result, consumers can use brands as a relevant mean of self- expression.

Marketers tend to use brands to differentiate a company' products from competitors and to create superior value to customers. The most important step in creating and delivering a superior value to customers is by adding meaningful brand associations that create value beyond the intrinsic characteristics of a product. One of the most important characteristics of a brand is the self-expressive function. Brands have the power to communicate valuable information and can be used and perceived in many ways by consumers. Many customers tend to use brands as a mean to express their identity and lifestyle.

Consumers prefer brands that "fit" into their lifestyle and disregard brands that do not reinforce their self-image positively. Common knowledge dictates that the cause of this behaviour is people's constant need to be happy and to have a positive life. Brands can be used to create a unique social identity for each customer.

Managers could benefit from positioning their brands as lifestyle brands for creating a strong competitive advantage. Brand managers can create "lopsided" lifestyle brands in order to avoid the perils of lifestyle branding, such as increased competition or the lack of differentiation. Good examples regarding this strategy are brands like Ikea, Apple or Dove.

When creating a new brand, extension managers must carefully design the new extension to "fit" into the target audience lifestyle and not only to be accepted by these consumers as another product that is intended to satisfy their needs.