You are What You Where

I picked up on an interesting marketing lesson while reading a recent May 2006 of Wired. In the article, Rise of The Neo Greens, the author quoted a UC Davis educator. Ken Kurani learned when studying hybrid car owners that the cars were purchased not for efficiency or savings. Because they didn't save any money. It was for what he called a "symbol of identity".

Now, get this next part. It is deep.

He said that, "the project of our lives is to tell a more interesting story of ourselves...people construct their identities as narrative".

These people want to be known.

Tying this into real estate, aren't there markets whereby the homeowners want you to know they live in this section or that? Often we sell it as prestige. But perhaps these desires are more deeply rooted.