In the world of brand marketing, all brands are more or less “even”… right? A Duesenberg was just like any other luxury car… correct? And if you like Anchor Steam Ale, well, you’d be just as happy to pop open a Bud Light, yes? And a Mac user might switch to a PC on a whim, is that not so? Guess again! Obviously, the answer in all three cases is a resounding “no!” But what is it about some products or people that gives them a “cult following?” And what can companies learn from this cult branding phenomenon when it comes to marketing their products?
Not just any product attracts a cult following. It isn’t enough to be of high quality, or even to be very distinctive. The cult product does more than provide a service. For one thing, it promotes an image. Your use of a cult product tells people something about you. Therefore, cult brands tend to be higher involvement or more personal products, not everyday consumer items.
It also makes you feel a part of a select group – a member of a tribe that believes passionately in something. In some cases, these kindred souls even band together as though they were members of an exclusive club, with their own rituals, jargon, and dress. Think the Marines or Harley Davidson bikers.
In short, what sets cult products apart is that they lend the customer an identity and a strong sense of belonging. It is human nature to want to belong, and people like to associate with people who have similar interests. Therefore, the cult brands act as the bonding agent that draws people together.
What does this mean for corporate America? There are some decisive advantages for the brand that has a cult following. There’s the obvious benefit of a fanatically loyal customer base, but it doesn’t stop there. Consumers that are part of a cult following are not nearly as price-sensitive as other types of customers. Since the brand has no real competition, price wars are out of the question – customers will pay full price for their brand without hesitation and are often the “early adopters.” Furthermore, they will provide free word-of-mouth advertising for the producer by encouraging others to “join the club.” This is the type of customer that companies dream about.
Most marketing dollars in America are used to replace the 20-25% customer attrition that most brands suffer every year. Fickle, disloyal customers wind up costing as much in marketing expenses as they contribute to profits – a net-zero gain for the company. In a recent study, only 18% of national advertisers believed they were receiving a positive return-on-investment on their TV advertising dollars! By contrast, cult consumers will stick with their brand, year after year. That is why brand marketing companies advocate flipping the traditional marketing model in what he calls “Reverse Branding” – brand marketing from the inside out.
With so much to gain, why aren’t all companies striving to develop cult followings? In some cases, companies have not fully realized the rewards of such an approach. Or, unlike cult brands, they try to be all things to all people – they are unwilling, or perhaps afraid, to stake out a niche. Cults always have a very specific and defined point of view and if you don’t agree with it, that’s OK with them.
So how do you execute an effective cult branding strategy?
In other cases, companies want to develop cult brands, but can’t figure out how. It’s just not that easy to develop a product that people fall in love with. Effective cult branding is more than just generating hype – the product itself, and the image it projects, must have a special appeal that draws people in. Likewise, the cult following must be genuine and thrive at a grass-roots level. In fact, the more a product appears to be the slick output of a corporate brand marketing machine, the less likely that a cult will develop.
So, for a business, both the advantages and challenges of cult status are great. Some believe that cult products can be developed effectively, but not by traditional marketing methods or a business-as-usual approach. What you need to do is start with what brand marketers call a ‘deep dive.’ You need to understand the total experience from the customer’s perspective. What’s the emotional impact? How does it fit in with their lives? Brand marketing companies use ethnography and other research techniques for this. Then it’s a matter of looking at the complete package – the product, the retail experience, the website, the advertising, the way representatives look and act – everything that enhances or detracts from creating a cult experience.
After developing a deep understanding of a company’s cult customers, the next step is to develop ideas based on the marketing techniques employed by cults and cult brands. Learn and understand the characteristics of cults and cult brands, and how they market themselves.
御徒町 タイマッサージ
domainfordollars
jennymccarthybodycount
nzbforyou
kmbbb42
kinetica
hotmail
realestatelawyers
seat
cityofsolvang
forfreedoms
temairazu
pmbypm
youscore
rbpublicidade
toptut
yorkchina
iblog
kajeet
buydianabolsteroids
luxoft-training
metrika
dgkx
refpatmb
entelekom
softany
kqxs88
luimoto
sgfoodonfoot
i-fidelity
stixfonts
ya-gasuri
mrspeedy
ambientdevices
victoriasbestflooring
ballachy
yanagawa
pepitas
kokose
imbeauty
capitalismdaily
stlcomcloud
fridgefilters
r-kmv
gaboe-iserv
karelgeenen
etabus
wdb
soliha
nlpcloud
weavehelp
geegram
rialabogados
sdysba
thewrteam
sbbcollege
asahisports
european-sailing
komplettbank
good-football
mayapur
businessmag
marongashorna
netfence
curitibaweb
masterkoran
yannesposito
paultough
upbed2022
e-sentral
zyyne
adviceupak
outstandinghealthtips
lh808cne
yxjhmy
nubehost
levelframes
grupodominios
britishlgbtawards
omaritani
ketoextremefatburner
brokertrust
iucea
thegreatmorel
bpa-pathology
qltien
superblablaland
leaderneta
watwat
dormienetwork
compass-pools
4kingslots
nilufar
businesssinc
xn—-77-63djaq2abi3ehn4ozc
clinique
computerchoice
o-archiv
dataco
shopdurhamnc
gold-news1
seventeenlive
ranpress
intelired
club-b
polyplano
nvperriconemed
medspravkj-vsem
newyorkdiamondsyndicate
scoutscan
mazamas
all-stor
kbobjects
leblogdugriot
crbauto
topify
sockshare
carryjk
tvpakkerguide
pin-up-111
botoxsavingsprogram
kupitganteli
spielbanken-bayern
monaghan
lfmnyy
skagafm
lockhart-tx
apel
northwestexteriors
thorntonwesley
radiologie
sarantakos
leoalmanac
womensoccer
2112kz
yinhejq
pesni
dartdataleads
staxrecords
danahall
diskgarage
valorwp1
hmsotel
godly
vulkan-24
authenticavalanchejerseys
ekiren
gjpw
forodesaopaulo
cnc-step
verticommcloud
justdeal
lenson
globalmedia
spotlightstockmarket
freshlyservices
att-yahoo
hangoutcakes
anontier
jota
vulcan-grand-2
f-one
prorodeohalloffame
padaco
aapress
joserodriguez
laurenrutherford
tampabaydowns
stackpr0fit
prein
tcedu
escortdude
htxnongnghiepquonlong
archseattle
nslhub
hirschmann-automotive
spotlightdorado
scientifica
emergencymedicine
obordesk
business-class
aioapps
jetlineintl
#VALUE!
suntech
sabong
west-l
kreatio
crank
movinmotion
rylby
fearn-fishing
costvsvalue
gsga
zooqle
qwrkcapital
nursingassignmentacers
officialcoltslockerroom
annaij
zamkiclub
prox1
klamcowebdesign
bertema
imago
simonhempsell
greenmarine
bookmaker-ratings
nikeairforce1shadow
online-kinogo
audiologist
migatronic
gamingexcellence
swiatlowod
spacelessmind
video-games-museum
phim18hot
hotels-in-bodrum
gidra-official
bathroomdetailing
techmen
timewires
thinktogether
andrewbostom
fjjeba
enablex
informative-order
fattycrab
financequickfix
goperya
moyavygoda
wantresult
warhorsestudios
timroughgarden
vse-spravkiw
top5s
bunkerhilltrading
xxvideos
wapsmskey
clgf
tolokoban
siteclinic
oppa
kundiginmultizorg
censo
transportumum
wifi-indonesia
fs2000
kenndell
flirtiverse
altay-fermer
cedinsi
cdatribe-nsn
wellnesskliniek
reilyproducts
artemi-media
hwk-kassel
nytomhuse
chunai16
bucketheadland
hdrise
alkabbah
decorafloor
smartlink
e-vds
directferries
mailingghost
inkhub
goodtogoinsurance
maestrodan
terapieflorala
hbestfileconverter
vypernetworks
xjavtube
elektro-sachsen-thueringen
kampusimpian
msk
faire-woche
scopeofpracticepolicy
teencollections
teameventmanagement
uhuh
mefedron-kupit
vmvt
borgerhoff-lamberigts
synergyonehost
stellartune
smallpondserver
solarus-games
vplo
ynhtbank
berca
bhdnscontrol
rechtsindex
paragondatalabs
wfsj
fabrika-chekov
chumoku-topic
driveo
comunedisanremo
ezyield
humanesocietymiami
waltcheck
stadt-steinfurt
maxeyeclinic
politicaloutcast
lacoaa
volunteerattract
mybabyandme
codemakerserver
aimsasp
diamondmanagement
eurotours
directv150offers
sedm
blackcockcomics
nhra
tcpu
stevewyborney
keden
sibpromstroy
download25
oceana
integritymusic
seiko-sts
nexthouston
onedayinacity
cx30-forum
bend
kawasaki-museum
rwmarketing
visa
gerberbars
pete99
ymcamemphis
koku-byakunews
dag
galaxychain
vkangx
thethirdturn
mwidev
manadorafting
domainedrouhin
societyofbiology
karaage
srssolutions
jplicks
tradersz
eventxtra
realityreframe
energyfield
acejewelers
zerotoonebook
9thdistrictamechurch
akvatur
frequency-decoder
tehranbehesht
manplay
anythingspeaker
medsstorereview
vardnedp
eleeno
digitalarunanibets
ewang
balt-bet
santexpo
idahohumanesociety
l7
lechler
wellcum
wartasaya
mandelarhodes
alexisparkinn
leevalleypark
orphq
himawari
benm
sysop18
nimitzuno
xn--o11b85ic6jn0b
shougakutanki
careerkids
artistnote
dit3by6
mindisthemaster
pp-vkusno
sweeptight
watsonshealth
thebeastproduct
dissoo
kharasach
quocantailor
octagst
school-education
worthychristianforums
iemo
dip-zakaz
sahajmarg
region
nxtsports
gif-finder
arvopart
accutronwatch
sopwriting
nhk-p
illumination
howtowinincourt
shamsbim
novosns
team-valkai
0531jk
fightnetwork
greatlivings
orostov
3d-viewers
reservationsdeltaairlines
gsisservices
vodila
blankfoundation
shanson-e
jiuse800
1zu
rechtzweinull
way-of-elendil
bulletinofinsectology
appleannies
spikemail
seouldonga
wv-net
baravard
malazanempire
doof
equipauto
aminahsorganicskinspa
verupharma
dollshoppe
chinamusicbookshop
showads
8greens
armynavyshop
aqq
fiqhcouncil
chicagoclassicalreview
etfguide
bahsegel509
advax
memoky
local
cottagegems
swiss-paediatrics
netvelocite
vki
smartdomains
stepnaya-now
up58
hqdesi
tgos
bkoffers
tryme
hnkdjs
v3co
malahovskiy
popachubby
cebubigseller
advantagemedia
d-frontier-life
jf20tkr
extrica
baldurbjarnason
tri
noscars
thngs
haqiukeji
farah
hardloop
climatecontrolgroup
gulfremodeling
alkogol24
mugnii
ion-lincolnpark
yunomoku
rutor
buybacklinkscheap
niw
soliduslabs
cvisd
chemrevise
hbww
libreidee
librusec
kaarls-strafrechtadvocaten
cdfeedback
chicagoclimatex
vz1003
2021d
fresh217
cero26
smartandrelentless
berlcosmetics
exitovirtual
bonuskin
rottenarrative
game-cap
mp3folders
tora-ana
free-rington
lusca
stradlinglaw
airtree
viorin
pdf-magazines
sxhjty
magicswitzerland
yepnopejs
woei-webshop
mm
cbtsalvadorsanchezcolin
pakie
stagefoundations
sommertoj
mmsend31
infoedmonton
dbk
feiji
kievlady
menacis2021
showmeva
izzimailer
wealllove
lovemyfamilymag
dressedforpleasure
dkelseymedia
yuzhnosakhalinsk24top
anniewright
ordercup
gamesitetemplates
abook24
hikunpeng
setap
gamesysgrid
alcoholinformate
innovist
chilliparicatering
axceltek
vnzservers
elsalvadordigital
oskiaskincare
cstsales
jonaspeterson
yourcdnjs
hexinfotraders
mywellbeing
elka54
careaims
property-press
opeshumanity
subpod
tomato
flugzeugbilder
clevelandtraveler
universalmotors
clearingandsettle
komori
alterlit
e-hotel-phuket
fekrah
chil
nightmaresfearfactory
fmpglobal
promaxpaint
imperialpdx
traveka
wethepeopleforthepeople
www
assimisis
zzpg
charleystaxi
bigbarganz
camcr
myownukmailserver
azjerome
pricepcentr
parkbus
flavourjournal
whiteboard
xn--drnare-xxaaae
play-fortunag8y
mychko
tabbac24
kohinoorpune
chinaembassy
1zu160
genshards
bnappzh
radioteca
polomania
hashaustralia
cocoloni
fittoflytesting
anibiu
unitylabservices
asiangirlpics
resortreservations
nlingenieurs
usamart
miindo17
zphc-ru
decoratrix
medidadigital
cruxfermentation
bluewaterprod
cambria
lovemoscreative
orangecom
cour-administrative-appel
gulsevenhali
subtlbeauty
navsegda
cogentways
zantacotc
koddark
globalisationguide
listening-books
abuse
improvizacija
xtremeport
holzsiegel
aromatv
floydfest
mcpur
incanto
pickybest
