Cult Brand Report 2026: What CEOs and CMOs Need to Know

Our Cult Brand Report 2026 brings together research, seven brand examples, and practical tools to help you strengthen customer loyalty and make better growth decisions.

Inside, you will learn…

How to turn customer love into business decisions. A shared CEO and CMO agenda for aligning your brand promise, internal culture, customer experience, and investment.

How AI is changing brand discovery. What to examine in your product information, public answers, and credible evidence—and the questions agentic commerce raises about loyalty and the customer relationship.

What seven brands can teach you. Explore LEGO’s customer contributions, Costco’s recurring value, Duolingo’s approach to helping customers restart, DICK’S Sporting Goods’ shared experiences, Patagonia’s accountability, Sephora’s relationship continuity, and Atlassian’s peer learning. Each case includes a proposed experiment to consider for your business.

How to apply the Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding today. Practical ways to build participation, belonging, enjoyment, and trust while giving customers freedom over their involvement.

How to evaluate your own brand. Our Cult Brand Diagnostic helps your team examine the evidence behind each rule and identify where you need stronger practices.

What to ask before investing more. Questions about acquiring new customers, retaining existing ones, creator partnerships, employee support, and measuring contribution after the full cost.

The report closes with five questions for your next leadership meeting: What useful outcome can we reliably deliver? Which experience weakens trust? What can customers accomplish together? How will future buyers find and choose us? What evidence will justify our next investment?

Read it with one customer challenge in mind. Then use it with your team to choose a practical next step.

To receive your copy, reply to this email with “Cult Report.” I will personally email you the PDF.

BJ

P.S. Feel free to include the customer loyalty or growth question on your mind. I would love to hear what you are working through.