Marketing starts when you realise that the majority of the population is more interested in reserving a place in heaven than enjoying life.
As a consultant deeply engaged in consumer psychology and cultural dynamics, this statement uncovers an often-overlooked truth: people are not solely motivated by present gratification. At a deeper level, human behaviour is guided by the need for security, identity, significance, and a sense of transcendence. Marketing that ignores this will always feel transactional. Marketing that understands it, however, becomes transformative.
When we talk about “reserving a place in heaven,” we are speaking metaphorically about humanity’s instinctive longing for purpose and permanence. Most consumers are not just buying a product—they’re buying what that product says about them, and what it promises in terms of their moral, social, or spiritual legacy. Whether through religion, community service, sustainability, or even personal branding, people are attempting to shape their narrative in a way that suggests their life matters beyond the here and now.
Modern marketing must recognize this shift from pleasure-seeking to meaning-seeking. People are less interested in what something is and more interested in what it means. For instance, the explosive growth of ethical brands—those promoting sustainability, fair trade, wellness, and social justice—illustrates how consumer choices are increasingly about moral alignment. These brands succeed not because they offer superior features, but because they allow consumers to feel like better human beings. Consumption has become a vehicle for virtue signalling, self-affirmation, and collective identity.
Even in luxury sectors, this principle holds true. High-end fashion, premium cars, or exclusive memberships aren’t just about indulgence—they’re about status, legacy, and a place in a social “heaven” of sorts. People buy them to belong to an elite narrative, one that transcends fleeting trends and suggests timeless worth.
This is where marketing truly begins—not with product specs, but with storytelling. Your brand must be able to insert itself into the myth consumers are writing about themselves. It must help them feel not only successful but significant. It must serve not only a function, but a philosophy. When a brand becomes a vehicle for meaning—when it helps people feel virtuous, empowered, or seen—it transcends the transactional and enters the emotional and even the spiritual realm.
In this light, the marketer’s role is not just to persuade. It is to empathise, interpret, and translate the consumer’s deeper aspirations into messages, products, and experiences. Marketing becomes a bridge between what people buy and what they believe.
To thrive in today’s value-driven world, brands must stop asking, “How do we get people to want this?” and start asking, “How does this help someone feel like they’re living the right life?” That’s the real sale—and it lasts far longer than the checkout page.
