What do brands like Apple, Nike, Whole Foods, and Red Bull have in common? They sell very different products, but one thing they’re all selling is a lifestyle.

These are some of the world’s biggest and best “lifestyle brands,” defined as “companies that market their products or services to embody the interests, attitudes, and opinions of a group or a culture. Lifestyle brands seek to inspire, guide, and motivate people, with the goal of their products contributing to the definition of the consumer’s way of life.”

Their advertisements aren’t trying to prove they offer the best products or prices; they’re selling the brand itself and what it stands for. Buying their products is as much about relating to that image as it is about the quality and benefits of the products themselves. That brand is tactfully developed: It represents who their target audience is or, perhaps more importantly, who they want to be.

Apple is much more than a phone and computer company. Nike is much more than a sneaker company. Whole Foods and Red Bull are more than grocery and energy drink companies.

Are you more than a tanning company?

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.