Brand Identity: Muscles, the New Luxury
Brand identity is essential, and defining a timeless identity is a guarantee for survival. Nevertheless, as cautious and forward-looking brand leaders, you are obsessed with trends - because missing what they mean for your brand could be fatal. In my last deep dive on brand trust, I explored how the twin forces of "The Truth Crisis" and "From WE to ME" fundamentally influenced brand trust. In this deep dive, we examine the profound impact of a new cultural paradigm: "Muscles, the New Luxury."
Tectonic status-shift: Muscels, the New Luxury
Based research all individuals actively engage in goal-directed behaviors to monitor, maintain, and elevate their status. The desire for status is a universal human motive that directly dictates subjective well-being, self-esteem, and physical and mental health. Status being defined as respect, admiration, and voluntary deference from others, serves as a core human drive.[1]
For over a century, brand strategy was built on the premises of conspicuous consumption[2] and objectified capital[3], where external physical possessions served as primary signals of identity and the extended self[4]. A Porsche in the driveway of the own house was aspirational. A Swiss mechanical watch on the wrist signaled job success or generational wealth. A second home signaled financial security. Status was additive, physical, and asset-heavy.
Then came the post-COVID watershed. The existing wellness trend and the rise of the purpose generation was the perfect breeding ground for the tectonic shift: Where status was once anchored in accumulated physical assets, status today is defined by somatic capital—the biological control over one's body, energy, and mind. Individuals increasingly measure status not by the watch on the wrist, but by the ‘Sleep Score’ and the ‘Body Battery’[5]. It is a fundamental cultural re-calibration: Status migrated from what you can own to what you can cultivate within.
Several studies support this tectonic status shift. One study concluded that post-COVID consumer intent moved decisively from reactive healthcare to proactive bio-optimization, sleep architecture, and stress management.[6] The New Global Wellness Institute research reveals a wellness market with unbelievable momentum, worth 26% more than it was pre-pandemic. The wellness industry is now roughly four times larger than the global pharmaceutical industry (1.6 trillion Dollars) and nearly 60% as big as all consumer health expenditures (10.6 trillion Dollars) [7]. Another research on post-pandemic luxury shows that younger Gen Z and Millennials view physical discipline, metabolic health, and emotional agency as status markers. Ownership does not equate to success in the minds of the new clientele anymore, because the ultimate aspirational product today is self-improvement.[8] Today, the ultimate status symbols are internal. They are visible in physical stamina, metabolic flexibility, emotional self-regulation, deep focus, and time sovereignty. In an era where digital noise is infinite and material goods are hyper-democratized, a good ‘Sleep Score’, a control over the ‘Body Battery’ and physical discipline are the only assets that cannot be forged, bought off a shelf, or generated by an algorithm. Muscels are the new luxury.
OLD STATUS: Ownership NEW STATUS: Vitality
Materieal Assets (Cars, Real Estate, Watches) Somatic Investment (Fitness, Bio-markers)
Extrinsic Prestigous Logos Intrinsic Sovereignity (Time, Focus, Health)
‘Look what I have accumulated’ ‘Look what I have disciplined’
The importance of defining your brand identity
Aaker, the ‘marketing god of brand identity’, distinguishes between a core brand indentity and an extended brand identity.
The core identity represents the timeless essence and soul of the brand. It consists of three to five core beliefs, values, or capabilities that remain stable as the brand moves into new product categories, enters new geographic markets, or navigates through generations. It is what the organization would defend at all costs.[9] Defining a core identity is crucial for every brand, an existential exercise every company must undergo. Aaker’s Rule: If you change your core identity to match a short-term trend, you dilute your brand equity and destroy brand trust.
The extended identity provides the texture, richness, and completeness that brings the brand to life. While the core identity is immutable, the extended identity is designed to be fluid, adaptive, and modern. It is the vehicle through which a brand speaks to the contemporary era without sacrificing its soul.[10]
To illustrate this shift, let us look at Porsche as a classic representative of traditional status. The core brand identity could read as follows:
Porsche: Uncompromising sports car performance for everyday usability[11].
To navigate this tectonic status shift, Porsche must re-articulate its brand as product extended identity, transitioning from a product defined by engine output to one engineered for human somatic performance. It coud read as follows:
The vehicle cabin transforms into an active telemetry center for the driver's emotional and physical state. Leveraging real-time contextual data (like traffic, weather, and the drivers somatic biometrics) it recommends optimized routes and driving dynamics to maintain a perfect equilibrium between athletic performance and human vitality.
In doing so, Porsche’s core identity 'uncompromising sports car performance for everyday usability’ is not abandoned, but re-anchored where it matters most to contemporary and future consumers.
In Aaker’s model, brand identity also encompasses brand as person and brand as symbol. Porsche would need to evaluate these dimensions as well, for example evolving its personality from a mechanical conqueror into an intelligent performance partner, and eventually its visual symbol language from loud logo dominated environments toward quieter digital aesthetics.
Brand Futurist take outs & conclusions for modern brand management
Is your brand truly prepared to master this tectonic status shift?
If your answer is an immediate "yes," think twice. This cultural shift challenges the foundational strategy and identity of almost every legacy brand. Take a hard look at where your brand actually stands, and rigorously evaluate strategic options to adapt your extended brand identity to this long-term trend.
Failing to adapt to this new reality risks repeating the mistake of the European automotive industry. When Tesla launched, legacy European carmakers viewed it merely through their old paradigm of engine performance: another drivetrain on a traditional sled. Meanwhile, global tech competitors recognized it for what it truly was: the revolutionary arrival of a software platform wrapped in a car. Who is now better setup to master the challenges ahead?
If you still doubt how fundamentally status and ownership models are shifting, ask yourself why even Apple—the world's most valuable product ecosystem—now offers direct product leasing. The era of static asset ownership is over. Is your brand identity built for what comes next?
Do not fall into the opportunistic trap.
It is tempting to rewrite your core brand identity simply to chase a short-term trend. But doing so means abandoning the soul of the brand and slowly but surely eroding brand trust.
Consider Starbucks as a cautionary tale. Their original core identity was ‘The Third Place’ the essential sanctuary between home and office, built around human warmth and community. Yet as the cultural environment accelerated towards quick food, digital and individualism. Starbucks allowed its core identity to morph into ‘speed, mobile, and convenience’. By optimizing heavily for transaction speed, Starbucks destroyed the emotional equity of ‘The Third Place’. Stores became chaotic assembly lines for door-dashers and mobile pick-ups, turning baristas into factory workers and driving away customers seeking genuine human connection. Imagine where Starbucks could be today had they evolved their extended identity rather than sacrificing their core: they might have become the world’s largest network of high-vibe co-working space, nurturing the somatic well-being of their guests while continuing to serve premium coffee.
The lesson for brand leaders is clear: keep your core identity endless, and evolve your extended identity always in a way that honours the brand's soul.
Position your Brand as a somatic partner, not a servant
Under David Aaker’s Brand as Person dimension, luxury brands historically acted as caretakers pampering the consumer with passive indulgence. In the somatic era, the ideal brand personality shifts from a passive servant to an elite athletic or cognitive partner. Consumers seeking physical mastery and mental focus do not want passive comfort. They want instruments, guidance, and environments that elevate their agency. Evaluate your brand’s personality: does it make your customer passive and dependent, or does it make them stronger, sharper, and more sovereign
If you want to contribute or have any reflection on the above, please do not hesitate to comment.
‘Status migrated from what you can own to what you can cultivate within’
Key Takeaways:
Status has migrated from material accumulation to somatic capital, making biological discipline, mental clarity, and time sovereignty the ultimate non-counterfeitable luxury markers.
Protect your core brand identity as immutable, while boldly evolving your extended identity to match shifting cultural paradigms - across product, personality, and symbol.
Avoid the opportunistic trap of rewriting your brand’s soul to chase short-term trends, or risk eroding the brand equity and brand trust built over decades.
[1] Anderson, C., Hildreth, J. A. D., & Howland, L. (2015). Is the desire for status a fundamental human motive? A review of the empirical literature. Psychological Bulletin, 141(3), 574–601.
[2] Scott Zimmer, JD., (2001); EBSCO; https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/political-science/veblens-theory-conspicuous-consumption
[3] Wickert, Ch., (2026); SozTheo; https://soztheo.com/sociology/key-works-in-sociology/pierre-bourdieu-distinction-a-social-critique-of-the-judgement-of-taste-1979/#:~:text=Cultural%20capital%20refers%20to%20education%2C%20language%20skills%2C,Institutionalized%20cultural%20capital%3A%20degrees%2C%20academic%20titles%2C%20certifications.
[4] Chen, X., 2025; BLOG; https://chenxing.space/consumer-behavior/notes-on-the-extended-self-theory/#:~:text=Main%20Topic%20or%20Phenomenon.%20The%20paper%20examines,become%20viewed%20as%20parts%20of%20the%20self.
[5] Harris, P. (2025). Wellness is the new status symbol. Arbra Partners.https://www.arbra.global/articles/stillness-is-the-new-status-symbol
[6] Callaghan, S., Doner, H., Medalsy, J., Pione, A., & Teichner, W. (2024, January 16). The trends defining the $1.8 trillion global wellness market in 2024. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/the-trends-defining-the-1-point-8-trillion-dollar-global-wellness-market-in-2024
[7] Global Wellness Institute. (2024, November). Global wellness economy monitor 2024. https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/research/global-wellness-economy-monitor-2024/
[8] Highsnobiety, & Boston Consulting Group. (2022). The new luxury landscape: How culture, community, and values are redefining status. Boston Consulting Group; Highsnobiety. https://company.highsnobiety.com/insights
[9] Aaker, D. A. (1996). Building strong brands. Free Press
[10] Aaker, D. A. (1996). Building strong brands. Free Press
[11] Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. (2026). Annual and sustainability report 2025: Driven by dreams. https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/annual-sustainability-report-2023.html