An aspirational brand is a term in consumer marketing for a brand or product which a large segment of its exposure audience wishes to own, but for economic reasons cannot.
[citation needed] Because the desire for aspirational goods is relative to the consumer's purchasing power, an aspirational brand may be a luxury good if the person desires it, or it may simply be any product whether luxury or not if a consumer has less spending money.
[citation needed] The premise of this type of marketing is that purchase decisions are made at an emotional level, to enhance self-concept.
[5] This ability can to a large extent be explained by the consumer's need for conspicuous consumption for which he is willing to pay a price premium.
The smaller the size of the product's target audience compared to the exposure audience, the more the product satisfies this need, and the higher the premium that such a consumer is prepared to pay.