Brands never come cheap and are a luxury for many. Some people feel brands are image enhancers, and only the rich and upper-class can afford them as brands have become part of their lifestyle. Young corporate professionals believe that to climb the social ladder they need to go in for quality brands. Brands, like the "Bentley" or "BMW" are now within reach of many Indian CEOs, hence, they want to flaunt these lifestyle accessories to achieve corporate goals. Thus, these image enhancers are becoming synonymous with success.

The basic difference between a brand and a non-brand is a feeling of "trust" that consumers derive when they buy a product. A brand is generally a wholesome approach—it reveals the price, quality, origin, technology and so on. In a wholesome approach, consumers not only trust the brand but also associate lot of things with it like price, image, quality, origin, durability, etc. Take the example of Maruti-800 or Zen Estilo or Aveo or BMW—consumers of different strata understand the "value" of each brand and choose whichever they find appropriate. Thus, each brand has its own value and this value drives the consumers.

Broadly, there are three kinds of "value drivers"—(sex) appeal, image, and price. Consumers with different backgrounds will go by any one of these value drivers at the time of purchasing a brand. It has been observed that people do not respect products which exude strong sex appeal, in other words sex appeal is associated with cheap products. Sex appeal is generally used in products which are not used by classy people. People with sex deprivation or lacking normal sex life may prefer a product which may have strong sex appeal. Most youngsters too are attracted to products with sex appeal as they may be driven by their fantasies.

Advertising Express Magazine, Purchase Decisions, Corporate Professionals, Message Strategies, Sex Exaggeration, Price Advertisements, Brand Communication, Brand-Savvy, Sex Appeal, Corporate Goals, Quality Brands.