Brand Value vs Overpricing: Creating Real Value or Just Charging Too Much?

Brand Value vs Overpricing: Creating Real Value or Just Charging Too Much?

When consumers start to ask, “Are we living in an era when everything is overpriced?”
We increasingly see that celebrities and influencers are no longer just paid endorsers — they are becoming brand ownersthemselves. Whether in cosmetics, skincare, fashion, or even dietary supplements, these celebrity-owned brands leverage their reputation and devoted fans as powerful engines for sales. Crucially, many of these brands set their product prices clearly above market norms.

That premium pricing by celebrity brands is a mix of business strategy and consumer psychology:

  1. Image Transfer: Customers don’t just buy the product — they buy the persona and lifestyle of the celebrity. Paying a higher price becomes a way to experience a glamorous, desirable world tied to that celebrity.

  2. Exclusivity: These brands often position themselves as special or limited edition, making high price a kind of filter — only certain buyers get access.

  3. Fan Loyalty: The fan base tends to have a high “willingness to pay.” Even if there are comparable alternatives at lower prices, fans may still pay more out of trust and emotional attachment to their idol.

  4. Hype and Review Culture: Products from celebrity brands often ride waves of rapid buzz. Many customers (and other influencers) rush to buy, review, and share, driving demand in those early stages. This pushes people to pay more just to be among the first to try.

However, this is exactly where the line between Brand Value and Overpricing is most tested. If a high-priced product lacks real quality or innovation to back up the celebrity name, the brand will be labeled as overpriced — and that reputation can damage not just the brand but the celebrity’s credibility, too.

Brand Value: The Foundation for Sustainable Pricing

Brand Value is the value a brand brings to its customers — not limited to the product itself but including experiences, emotions, and the trust customers place in the brand. It’s this value that makes customers willing to pay a price higher than ordinary market offerings (i.e. premium pricing).

Key elements of Brand Value include:

  1. Quality & Innovation: Products or services must deliver and even exceed expectations. (For example, Apple builds value through design and innovation.)

  2. Consistent Customer Experience: Every touchpoint (from purchase to after-sales service) must align. (Like how Starbucks delivers a cozy, consistent coffee experience.)

  3. Brand Awareness & Loyalty (Brand Equity): Trust, recognition, and emotional connection encourage repeat purchase and make customers advocates for the brand.

Pricing based on Brand Value — known as value-based pricing — is the most sustainable strategy, because customers feel the price is justified by the value they receive.

Overpricing: The Risk Waiting to Be Exposed

In a negative sense, Overpricing is setting prices above what a product’s true value or quality warrants — especially when compared to competitors. Although such a strategy may generate short-term sales, it carries high risks for long-term brand damage.

Factors that drive Overpricing (without real value):

  1. Psychological mechanisms & FOMO: Using scarcity, or the “fear of missing out,” to push customers to pay more just to own something that seems rare.

  2. Overcharging Strategy: Setting high prices for mid-level quality products. This is particularly dangerous, because consumers quickly notice the mismatch.

  3. Misunderstanding Premium Pricing: Some brands try to adopt premium pricing to suggest high quality, but without real differentiation or substance, that high price becomes perceived as overpricing.

Lessons for marketers — how to price as value, not overprice:

  1. Measure value before pricing: Don’t just price based on cost or competitor benchmarks. Use value-based pricing — price according to what customers perceive they’ll gain.

  2. Communicate your Value Proposition clearly: If you price above market, you must show customers exactly why they get more than ordinary products.

  3. Create real differentiation: High price must come with standout features or experience that competitors can’t easily replicate.

  4. Consistency is key: Brands with strong Brand Value maintain stable product positioning and pricing. Frequent price shifts can erode perceived value.

Conclusion

Sustainable marketing is about building strong Brand Value that makes customers willing to pay higher prices. If a brand can set high prices without being seen as overpriced, it means the brand has successfully built trust, differentiation, and superior experience. These are the true assets and foundations for long-term success.

Are you confident that your brand’s high prices come from real value — not just hype waiting to be questioned?

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