All Posts By

BJ Bueno

Why ‘Fake’ Travels Faster: The Hidden Economics of Attention

There’s a theory worth exploring: each social group online, whether political, cultural, or professional, feeds itself through algorithms that mirror its beliefs. Within these bubbles, the way to gain more social acceptance is to go louder, bolder, and often, more extreme. “Fake” sells because it’s more exciting. It triggers emotion. It spreads faster.

Nowhere is this more visible than in how news travels online. Every share, like, and retweet is a social signal, and attention has become the new currency. The irony? Platforms could detect fake news in less than five hours, but they don’t.

A 2020 study by Zilong Zhao et al., Fake News Propagates Differently from Real News Even at Early Stages of Spreading, uncovered something remarkable. False information doesn’t just reach more people; it moves differently.

Here’s what the data shows:

  • True information barely spreads. Most users see it once, directly from the source.
  • Fake news, on the other hand, cascades in waves, reshared quickly and widely through layers of users. The original source becomes harder to trace, and the story becomes collectively owned.

This difference appears within the first five hours of publication. Meaning, with the right detection models, platforms could easily flag and even halt disinformation early. The technology exists. What’s missing is the will.

Because outrage sells.
Conflict drives clicks.
And algorithms reward engagement, not accuracy.

It’s not just a failure of moderation; it’s a design choice. Platforms know that emotionally charged content keeps users scrolling longer and advertisers happier. Every share of fake news fuels the business model.

What’s fascinating and unsettling is that fake news operates like a cult brand for misinformation. It forges emotional connection, shared identity, and group belonging. People don’t just believe fake news; they defend it because doing so earns them status inside their digital tribe.

So perhaps the deeper question isn’t “why don’t platforms stop it?” but “why do we keep feeding it?”

Until the system values truth as much as attention, fake will continue to outperform real.

The cure isn’t more censorship. It’s cultural clarity rebuilding trust, curiosity, and critical thinking as the true social currency.

And that might be the hardest algorithm to rewrite.

November 7, 2025 by

Content Isn’t a Lottery. It’s a Funnel. (Steal Mine.)

Most marketing teams post and hope. 

The top brands post with a system. 

That’s the real difference between random visibility and reliable revenue.

Content isn’t a lottery where you buy tickets (posts) and hope one goes viral. It’s a funnel, a structured process designed to move people from curiosity to conversion. When you treat it like a funnel, every post has a purpose. Every view, like, and comment plays a role in building momentum.

TOFU → Pulls Attention

Top of Funnel content is your magnet. It’s what earns the scroll, stops the thumb, and earns a first impression. At this stage, you’re not selling, you’re intriguing.

Lead with ideas that make people feel seen: industry pain points, contrarian takes, or small “aha” moments from your daily work. TOFU content builds awareness and establishes credibility. It signals, “I understand your world.”

Think: a quick story that breaks a myth, a visual or analogy that simplifies a complex idea, or a one-line truth that earns a save or a share. You’re not trying to close; you’re trying to connect.

MOFU → Sparks Conversations

Middle of Funnel content is where you shift from impressions to interactions. This is where curiosity turns into conversation.

At this stage, your audience already knows who you are and now they need to know what you believe. Share frameworks, personal lessons, or examples that help people see a better way to solve their problems. This is your chance to teach, challenge, or inspire action.

Ask questions. Invite dialogue. Respond to comments thoughtfully. In B2B, the sale often starts in a comment thread, not a cold DM.

BOFU → Drives Conversions

Bottom of Funnel content turns relationships into results. Now that you’ve earned trust, it’s time to show proof.

BOFU content should demonstrate outcomes, credibility, and confidence. Case studies, testimonials, behind-the-scenes insights, and “here’s how we did it” stories work best here. You’re not bragging; you’re showing evidence.

The tone shifts from storytelling to partnership: “Here’s how we help leaders like you win.”

The System That Scales Trust

When done right, this funnel creates compounding returns. Each post builds on the last. Each interaction seeds future demand.

The biggest mistake? Treating content like a one-off performance instead of a repeatable process. Top brands know that consistency compounds and systems scale what luck can’t.

Post with purpose.

Steal the funnel. 

Make it yours.

TOFU pulls attention. MOFU sparks conversations. BOFU drives conversions. And when your content runs like a system, the results feel like magic.

November 4, 2025 by

The Multiplier Effect: Why TV Still Reigns

In a marketplace overflowing with channels, algorithms, and endless digital noise, it’s tempting for executives to chase the newest shiny platform. But the data tells a different story. When it comes to driving overall marketing performance, no medium multiplies impact like television.

A Kantar study revealed that removing TV from a campaign can slash its total effectiveness by nearly 39%. That’s not a marginal effect, it’s a collapse in campaign performance. Even more striking, when TV is included, it doesn’t simply generate awareness; it amplifies the results of every other channel. TV increases leads from digital campaigns by 12%, strengthens paid search and direct mail performance, and creates a lift across affiliates and social platforms.

This phenomenon isn’t theoretical. Research from Thinkbox visualizes the same principle through what marketers now call the multiplier matrix. The chart shows how different channels influence one another, and the numbers are unambiguous. When TV is part of the mix, social media effectiveness jumps 31%, print and radio gain 31%, cinema ads soar by 54%, and direct mail improves by 20%. In other words, TV acts as the gravitational force of the media ecosystem, amplifying every other orbiting element.

Why Television Still Commands Attention

Skeptics often dismiss television as an outdated medium in a digital-first world. But the enduring power of TV lies not in nostalgia but in human psychology. A recent study by Patrick Barwise, Steven Bellman, and Dr. Virginia Beal, Why Do People Watch So Much Television and Video?, offers an important clue. People watch television because it satisfies three timeless psychological needs: connection, emotion, and habit.

Television remains one of the few environments where audiences give sustained, undivided attention. It invites storytelling that builds emotional resonance, something banner ads and 15-second reels struggle to achieve. In a living room, stories unfold communally. Shared laughter, tears, and excitement create a neural bridge between what viewers feel and what they remember. Brands that appear in these high-attention, emotionally charged moments gain a kind of trust halo that extends beyond the screen.

In the language of branding, TV is not just an awareness driver; it’s an identity shaper. It associates the brand with feeling, not just function. And in a world where decisions are increasingly emotional before they are rational, that’s a competitive advantage.

The Power of Integration

Still, no single channel, TV included, can carry the full burden of growth. The lesson of modern media is integration, not isolation. The best-performing campaigns are orchestrations of complementary strengths: television and online video provide reach, emotion, and legitimacy; social media transforms that awareness into conversation and community; search and direct mail convert curiosity into measurable action.

When these channels are aligned around a single idea, their combined force is far greater than the sum of their parts. The data from Thinkbox and Kantar merely quantify what great marketers have always intuited: storytelling works best when every touchpoint sings in harmony.

From Channel Thinking to System Thinking

Leaders who still see marketing as a collection of disconnected tactics risk missing the larger opportunity. The shift from channel thinking to system thinking is what separates average campaigns from cult-brand performance. Cult brands—Apple, Nike, and Harley-Davidson among them—understand that emotion, repetition, and relevance reinforce one another across mediums. Every exposure is a chance to deepen belief. Television remains the amplifier in that system. It provides the spark that ignites the rest of the engine.

The Takeaway for Leaders

If you’re refining your media strategy this quarter, remember: cutting TV might look efficient on a spreadsheet, but it’s often catastrophic in the field. The smartest play is not to abandon the classics but to reimagine them as catalysts for the modern mix. Because even in a digital world, when all else fails, add TV. It still works harder for everything else.

November 2, 2025 by

How One of Our Favorite Cult Brands Was Born

How do you tackle an impossible brief?

With culture.

Let me explain with a story I love.

In the late 1950s, Britain faced a fuel crisis. Petrol was rationed, and the public abandoned big cars for smaller ones.

Leonard Lord, head of the British Motor Corporation, gave his team an impossible challenge:

“Build a proper miniature car small enough to park anywhere, big enough to seat a family.”

Impossible, right?

But instead of complaining, engineer Sir Alex Issigonis and his team got curious.

“Why,” they asked, “do engines always face forward?”

That single question changed everything. By turning the engine sideways, they freed up space and created a design that would go on to change the world, the Mini.

A British icon.
A cultural movement on four wheels.

In 1999, the Mini was named the second most influential car of the 20th century, right behind the Ford Model T.

The takeaway?

Impossible briefs don’t need more money or more time.

They need more imagination and a culture that asks “why not?” instead of “why.”

That’s what great brands do.
They challenge convention.
They don’t wait for permission to reimagine what’s possible.

That’s how cult brands are born.

October 31, 2025 by

One of the Coolest Outcomes of Advertising: Pricing Power

Most marketers think of advertising only in terms of awareness or short-term sales. But one of the most overlooked and most powerful outcomes of advertising is pricing power.

A fascinating study called Advertising’s Long-Term Impact on Brand Price Elasticity Across Brands and Categories by Berk Ataman, Prof. Koen Pauwels, Shuba Srinivasan, and Marc Vanhuele looked at 350 brands across seven years. The finding was clear: advertising significantly reduces price sensitivity.

This effect was strongest for premium and niche brands in complex categories. In other words, when the stakes are high and the choices are overwhelming, great advertising doesn’t just sell, it helps consumers navigate. By clarifying value and meaning, advertising makes people more willing to pay for a brand they trust.

Kantar and Oxford research reinforces this: brands that cultivate emotional perceptions see far greater resilience and pricing strength. When multiple brand effects are built, willingness to pay grows dramatically, up to 11% firmer pricing for brands with four or more strong brand associations.

Here’s my favorite finding from the Ataman study: competitive ads can help your brand, too. When competitors advertise, they often shine a spotlight on the entire category. That lifts awareness for everyone, making consumers less price-sensitive across the board.

The lesson for leaders? 

Strong brands can hold their ground on price. The more your advertising connects emotionally by telling stories, clarifying your purpose, and creating meaning, the less you have to rely on discounting to win business.

That’s the hidden magic of advertising: not just selling more, but giving you the confidence and resilience to charge what you’re truly worth.

October 28, 2025 by

Why Storytelling Is the Key to Building Loyalty in the Disruption Era

From cave paintings to TikTok, storytelling has always been the way humans make sense of the world. Stories are how we connect, remember, and decide what matters. In today’s disruption era—marked by rapid technological change, economic volatility, and shifting consumer expectations—storytelling isn’t a creative luxury. It’s a survival strategy.

Storytelling is the most powerful tool leaders have to build trust, connection, and loyalty. It bridges the gap between logic and emotion, between data and meaning. Neuroscience shows us why: stories release oxytocin, the “trust hormone,” and dopamine, which strengthens memory and motivation. Most importantly, stories synchronize the storyteller’s brain with the listener’s, creating a connection at the deepest human level.

Consumers are drowning in choices and skepticism. What cuts through isn’t another feature, coupon, or claim; it’s a meaningful narrative. Nike reminds us that greatness lives inside all of us. Apple urges us to “think different.” Patagonia calls us to protect the planet. These aren’t product pitches. They are movements.

Employees, too, need stories. Facts and strategies don’t unite a team; stories do. They make vision tangible, culture coherent, and purpose actionable. Harley-Davidson’s story isn’t about motorcycles—it’s about freedom on the open road. That narrative binds employees, dealers, and riders into one community, resilient through every market cycle.

Even investors lean on the story. Numbers may prove, but they don’t inspire. In turbulent times, confidence comes from a clear, credible narrative about where a brand is headed and why it matters. LEGO’s turnaround is a perfect example: by returning to its core purpose—sparking creativity through play—it reassured stakeholders and reignited global growth.

Here’s the truth: in disruption, clarity is scarce, but connection is priceless. Storytelling is how brands create that connection. It transforms transactions into relationships and audiences into communities.

The tools will evolve AI, VR, immersive media, but the principle will endure: great stories inspire trust, drive connection, and build lasting loyalty.

Storytelling isn’t just how we communicate. It’s how we lead. It’s how we build Cult Brands.

October 26, 2025 by

The Difference Between an Insight and a Strategy

People often confuse insights with strategies, but they’re not the same thing. Knowing the difference is what separates breakthrough thinking from wasted effort.

An insight is a revelation. It’s the “aha” moment that makes you look at the problem in a new way. Think of it as the key—it unlocks the door.

A strategy is a plan of action. It’s how you use your limited resources to reach a specific goal. Think of it as the house—it’s where you live once the door is unlocked.

An insight without a strategy is just a clever observation. A strategy without insight is just guesswork. Together, they give you the clarity and direction to actually move the needle.

Take Adidas, for example. The insight was that people don’t just buy athletic wear to perform better—they buy it to express identity and belonging. Sportswear is fashion as much as function. The strategy was to position Adidas not just as a performance brand but as a cultural brand by partnering with creators, musicians, and streetwear influencers. Adidas shifted from “athletic gear” to “lifestyle statement.”

The insight unlocked the door, but it took the strategy to build the house.

October 21, 2025 by

The Hidden Cost of Bidding on Your Own Brand

Here’s an uncomfortable truth I’ve seen too many established brands overlook: bidding on branded keywords might be a waste of money.

Back in 2012, eBay ran a fascinating experiment with economists Tom Blake, Chris Nosko, and Steve Tadelis. They shut off paid search ads in certain regions while keeping them active in others. What they discovered was eye-opening. When brand keyword ads like “eBay shoes” were turned off, sales didn’t go down. Customers found eBay anyway through organic search. In other words, the ads were redundant.

Non-brand keywords performed a little better and brought in some new or infrequent users, but even then, the return on investment was negative. When all the numbers were tallied, eBay’s overall ROI on paid search was -63%. They were essentially paying for clicks they would have gotten regardless.

This experiment validated something I’ve been teaching for years: strong brands don’t need to buy their way back into their customers’ minds. If your customers already love you, they’ll find you. They’ll type your name directly into their browser. They’ll recommend you to others because you’ve earned a place in their identity. As I wrote in Customers First, the customer creates the brand. 

Now, that doesn’t mean paid search is useless. It can be valuable for reaching new audiences with non-brand keywords, protecting your brand from competitors, or helping younger brands gain recognition. But for established brands, I believe the smarter play is to redirect that spend into strengthening your culture, building your customer community, and creating the kinds of experiences that get people talking about you.

That’s money you’ll never regret investing.

October 19, 2025 by

Creativity in the Workplace

“Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.”

— George Lois

In Search of Creativity

Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Imagination and the creative impulse have a way of alchemically transforming problems into new solutions and opportunities. No matter how ominous a problem appears to be, our innate creativity finds new doorways of infinite possibilities that allow us to tackle any challenge. Creativity is a powerful archetypal force that humans can access when we start to have fun with a problem.

In James Webb Young’s advertising classic, A Technique for Producing Ideas, he calls upon the observation of the Italian sociologist Vilfredo Pareto: “An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.” Change something old into something new by creating new combinations that haven’t been used before.

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.”  —Carl Jung

We love great stories of amazing innovation. Remember the Japanese Olympic pole vaulter who climbed up the pole and then jumped over the bar? While the Olympic board made his method illegal, his innovative solution was brilliant. It’s not often that you hear of someone finding amazing new strategies to jump over the business problems we face today. When was the last time the Ford Motor Company or GM re-invented the way we parallel park our cars? We are often stifled when we attempt to look at the world with fresh eyes and to embrace new experiences, and we avoid the work involved in generating new ideas.

When Leon Battista Alberti declared, “A man can do all things if he will,” he condensed the ideals of the Renaissance into the figure of the Renaissance man. Since then, knowledge became specialized, and having the breadth of knowledge in the wide range of subjects embraced by Renaissance men now borders on impossibility.

The Renaissance man still walks among us, but we now call him groups. People in diverse fields are beginning to understand how solutions that limit them to the fields that produced the question are inadequate. To understand how humans interact, sociologists are drawing on the skills of mathematicians and physicists in the new field of network science pioneered by Duncan Watts and Steven Strogatz; at Neuroscience 2006, the renowned architect Frank Gehry spoke about how advances in the science of perception will aid architects in their designs; at IDEO, psychologists and engineers come together to design products. The benefits of a group of diverse individuals working together are quickly becoming indispensable.

The term group has many meanings, from a collection of individuals operating independently to managers working together to solve a tactical problem; each type of group has its own dynamics. The current literature on group decision-making reveals how different the dynamics of these groups really are: What impedes a group operating in one dynamic may increase the productivity of a group operating in another.

In The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki describes situations where groups of individuals acting independently somehow arrive at the correct answer when all of their responses are considered collectively; the group as a whole seems more intelligent than any of the participants. These groups can guess things like the number of Jelly Beans in a jar—a logical analysis having more to do with statistics and spatial acuity than intelligence. A random group may have great success addressing similar problems that involve a correct and often mathematically-driven answer (counting jelly beans), but attempting to use a similar procedure to solve problems that lack a single, correct solution (the best advertising campaign for a new product) is likely to yield limited benefits.

Brainstorming, invented by advertising executive Alex Osborn, was designed to maximize effective and creative problem-solving. Research on brainstorming initially failed to show any increase in the number and quality of ideas when compared to individuals working alone, but in the last fifteen years, research has revealed that brainstorming can be productive if the procedures guard against impediments that naturally occur like conversation being controlled by a limited number of individuals and shared data being disproportionately represented. When small groups of individuals attempt to collectively arrive at a solution through discussion, productive solutions are uncovered.

Yet, most companies don’t engage in a creative process because most of their prior “creative” meetings haven’t produced significant results. Nothing new happens, the same people come up with the same line of thinking, and the same ideas keep recurring. The solutions generated are mostly dull and uninspired. In the aftermath of these “brainstorming” sessions, everyone goes back to their desks and does what they’ve always done.

In this scenario, it’s no wonder most companies quickly abandon creative engagements. But, if current research is to be believed, this unproductive scenario is exactly what should happen. A lack of productivity is the default tendency of a group, but it can be prevented. These companies miss out on key insights that can move their business objectives forward. Plus, if you don’t tap into the collective wisdom of your team, your business will lose momentum because key components to solving difficult problems are left uncovered.

In today’s fast-moving business environment, we often structure teams around specific projects (as opposed to an overriding hierarchical command with cubicle-centric “business as usual”). Google.com employs a predominantly project-based environment where team leaders rotate and more resources are added to the team based on the viability and momentum of individual projects.

So, how do you get more creative productivity from your team? Promoting individual creativity is hard; inspiring a group of individuals to be creative together seems insurmountable. As a “Consumer Insight Think Tank,” The Cult Branding Company survives and thrives on creativity. But as a company—as a collective of individuals with unique qualities and models of viewing the world—we are faced with the challenge of how to maximize our diverse team’s background and group dynamics to produce valuable ideas and insight for our clients. What follows is the result of our search for generating creativity in the workplace. It works brilliantly for us. We hope it serves you well, too.

Pre-project Considerations 

The Team

You’ve got an important problem to solve. The team is assembled. You hold your breath because you know the inherent challenges, like allowing conversation to flow freely, not forcing a pre-existing idea on the group, and not getting stuck on one idea, which arises in bringing a team of unique individuals together. How do you structure your team to increase productivity and solve problems more effectively?

Although it seems obvious, it is best to construct the team around the problem. What special skills will be required to complete the project? Think outside the immediate scope of the problem: What skills could be relevant that would constitute a non-standard approach? Don’t select people solely based upon position in the company. Position doesn’t determine one’s desire or ability to effect important changes. If people are more concerned with maintaining the status quo than driving the company forward, they will only hinder the progress of a team dedicated to making changes. Find the people with the broadest applicable knowledge base and the strongest drive, and make the team leader the person with the broadest knowledge base over all areas of the project. Make sure the leader is able to lead without being controlling or demanding.

The Environment

The environment plays a role in people’s ability to complete a project. The space should allow for efficient communication—proximity is power. Having to constantly travel long distances (even within a building) to get things done can hinder or even cut off essential communication. If your workspace is large, can you minimize travel distance between individuals who need to communicate directly on a regular basis?

If possible, the brainstorming or meeting space should take people out of their normal working environment. A change in scenery is very effective for breaking people out of their standard routines and for facilitating creativity.

Designing the Project

Setting The Stage

The first two meetings are guided brainstorming sessions. These meetings should be facilitated by the person in the leadership position. The goal of the leader is not to force communication in any direction, but to ensure everyone stays on track with the process and to set the open, nonjudgmental tone for the meetings.

The leader must make it clear that no one will be criticized for his or her ideas. The goal is to get as much feedback, ideation, and data out of the group as possible—not to discuss a specific solution. This method is contrary to the way most people approach group brainstorming. The goal is not to come into the meeting with an idea in mind and then try to win people over to your way of thinking; it’s not an essay contest or a debate. It is essential that the leader makes this distinction clear.

Although most people would assume an inverse relationship between quantity and quality (measured by usefulness and originality) of ideas, studies show there is a direct relationship: The more ideas you generate, the higher the quality of your final solution. Encourage people to say whatever comes to mind within the confines of each segment of the meetings.

Session 1: Generating Ideas

The following meeting structure will help you set up a productive session:

1. Define the problem. This should be done before the meeting and brought to the meeting by the leader. The problem must be specific— the more specific, the better. A clearly defined problem and goal provide the necessary focus for the meeting. You should be able to answer the following questions when the meeting begins:

a.What is the problem?

b.What is the specific end goal? This should be measurable; defined by time, money or quantity.

c.When is the deadline?

d.What is the budget (if applicable)?

2. Lay out the facts. Spend time listing and recording any background research to create as much context as possible for the team. This can include data collected specifically for the project or data that is the result of the knowledge of the participants. This is not the place for opinions or inferences, just facts.

3. Create an environment of openness. Underlying beliefs and opinions that people don’t feel justified in making openly, such as personal, emotionally-based opinions, can cloud almost any discussion. A gut reaction that certain ideas are out of line with the company’s goals can also make someone hesitant, but that’s all right. There’s no need to provide support for someone’s feelings now, because this part of brainstorming is the time for gut reactions. The sole purpose of the exercise is to allow the discussion to be carried out unimpeded by hidden motives or desires.

4. Look at the current situation. If the project is designed to re-examine and change a current situation, it’s time to look at what’s already in place. This step isn’t necessary if it is a brand-new project that is not designed to replace an existing situation. However, if there is a current situation, first look at what’s going on now from a negative viewpoint: What’s wrong with it? If it worked before, why does it no longer work optimally? Be as specific as possible. Once you look at it negatively, consider it positively: What about this procedure or situation still works? Could it be tweaked to work without major changes? Does it need a major overhaul? If something needs to be changed, like the predominant retail display in your industry, consider the characteristics of the current approach and preclude using solutions that stem from that approach in the discussions. Knowing what it shouldn’t be helps with understanding what it should be.

5. List new solutions. Based upon current ways of doing things in the company, or procedures in the specific field, what solutions would effectively solve the problem? There’s no need to justify these solutions at this point; just get them out there. This also isn’t the time for wild solutions; instead, explore standard solutions that are not currently being employed.

6. End the session. After the solutions are listed, it is time to end the meeting. No conclusions should be reached. The ideal time for this first meeting is on a Friday. The mind has a way of coming up with ideas and solutions when direct focus is not placed on the problem. Almost everyone has experienced a situation where, after failing to try forcing a solution, they took a break and, without any effort, suddenly a solution popped into their head. This step is sadly ignored in most decision-making processes. The best place for this step is after all the information has been gathered and looked at as described. During the weekend, everyone will be doing something unrelated to work, incubating their ideas without wasting valuable time during the week.

Session 2: Finding the Solution

“Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” —Albert Einstein

The following steps for Session 2 will guide you to an optimal solution:

1. Start with a brain game. The best games are exercises that get people thinking critically about a problem in a new way. These exercises don’t have to relate to business—research shows that when the critical-thinking mindset is activated by any task, the mindset carries over to the next task to produce results.

2. See if anyone has any new solutions. Referring to the first session, see if anything came to anyone over the weekend that uses standard solutions.

3. Get people to give wild solutions. Have the participants use their imagination and dream up wild solutions to the problem. It doesn’t matter if they seem crazy at first—just get everything out there. Standard ideas from other disciplines that have never been applied to a problem like the one being tackled can be very useful.

4. Get everyone’s gut reaction to the options presented. There’s no need for any justification. This serves the same purpose as step three from the first session.

5. List the weaknesses. Go over each solution and have people come up with possible weaknesses of each approach.

6. List the strengths. Go over each solution again, this time listing their strengths.

7. Make a decision. By the time you get to this step, the solution will probably be obvious. If not, look at the solutions side-by-side. If consensus cannot be reached (and you have the resources), see if both solutions can be tested simultaneously for the next week by different people.

8. Articulate the decision as a concrete goal with a specific result. It is imperative that the goal is framed in terms of the specific desired result. A targeted result must be measurable including a definitive deadline. A result that says: “Design a new product packaging” doesn’t offer sufficient clarity and direction. “Develop a new product prototype that communicates our new focus on the customer by January 15, 20XX” will do the job. This can be the single most important factor in getting a team to work effectively.

9. Delegate responsibilities. Assign tasks to everyone present that makes full use of their skills. It helps knowing who you’re working with. People may have skills you’re unfamiliar with that would benefit the project.

Working Together

This process should create a clear solution. As everyone plays a role in determining the solution, each team member is more likely to be motivated to follow the project through to completion.

No matter who came up with the final solution, the project is the property of the group. Everyone is accountable for the project’s result. If anyone fails, everyone fails. This attitude creates a supportive system and encourages communication and responsibility.

Although it’s important to have group consensus, it’s equally important to focus on the contributions of the individual. Have specialists take leadership roles whenever possible. People with specialized knowledge are best equipped to run the related part of the project, allowing them to shine individually.

The leader should focus on maintaining the balance between the group project and individual expertise, ensuring that proper ideas and communication are being exchanged and making sure each person has what he or she needs from the group in order to operate at optimal capacity.

Schedule Meetings

Weekly meetings should be scheduled to monitor progress. They don’t have to be long; they are simply to facilitate communication and follow-through (creating accountability), and to monitor the project’s progress. If something isn’t working, identify it, and have the group brainstorm fixes. Repeat the process of listing standard fixes, then wild fixes, examining the weaknesses, then strengths, and finally determining a usable solution.

These weekly meetings also establish benchmarks that will keep people focused and motivated to produce. These times are a showcase for highly motivated people as well—they will force themselves to accomplish as much as possible so they can contribute their individual talents to the group. This perspective is contagious, as hard work propagates hard work.

Play Along

If you want to ignite your team’s creative energy, learn to see this process through. It’s easy to jump to the end and skip steps. We all have the urge to try to get to the better ideas faster. The creative process can’t be rushed, however, and we must honor it.

If you can learn to foster an open environment and set up the optimal conditions for creativity to thrive with your group, the collective creative juices will begin to flow, transforming your business or division.

Viola Spolin, co-founder of the improvisational style of theatre, taught children to play games to solve problems; playing stimulates the mind to create solutions. How can you play? If you are selling a book, what if you were forced to use the book as another object in an activity or discussion? What associations would arise? You can check out Spolin’s Theatre Games for the Classroom for exercises to jumpstart your mind for creativity.

Playing along will take you out of your comfort zone; that’s part of its power. If you’re having trouble playing along, try adopting the mindset of a child. Children are happiest when they are allowed to play. Conversely, children’s creativity helps them to have fun! Children have always used their imagination to create new ways of play.

Commit to this creative process to generate new, exciting solutions. Having fun with this process will ensure its successful implementation.

More Points to Keep in Mind

  • Push people to listen to others when they are speaking. The single most important factor in producing ideas in a group brainstorm (that outweighs those produced by an equal number of individuals working independently) is the attention paid to other people’s ideas. Ideas propagate ideas, but only if people are paying attention.
  • Make sure there are no distractions. Turn off the cell phones. No one should leave the meeting when everyone else is working. Too much rambling and too many tangents create a background noise that has been shown to impede the generation of ideas.
  • Guard against heavy discussion among group members directed towards a solution; this is especially important early on. If information or opinions are shared among group members and this information dominates a discussion, the final solution often gets skewed toward this solution. It also makes it less likely that someone else will present unique information.
  • Be wary of anyone who is “the expert.” With difficult decision-making, there is a tendency for groups to come to a consensus that mirrors the solution suggested by “the expert,” but this doesn’t necessarily produce the best solution. Focus on the collective expertise of the group rather than the individual.
  • Delegate a set amount of time to each segment of the session. If sessions have no clear ending time, they tend to end with ramblings. There’s no need for the same ideas to be stated more than once.
  • Be flexible: If it seems like more time is genuinely needed, spend more time on it.

Unlock Your Team’s Creative Firepower

Bring our on-site Creativity Sprint for Marketing Teams to your office (or run it virtually). In one high-energy session, we’ll turn fuzzy problems into testable ideas your customers will love.

Book your workshop: cultbranding.com • Email: [email protected]

October 5, 2025 by

Why Customer Belonging Is the Future of Brand Growth

CEOs today are under extraordinary pressure. Digital transformation is racing ahead, economic volatility has become the norm, and retaining top talent has never been harder. Traditional growth levers—bigger ad spends, deeper discounts, louder campaigns—no longer guarantee results.

The real question leaders face is: How do you build sustainable growth when customers have more choices, higher expectations, and less patience than ever before?

The Hidden Growth Driver

Research shows that emotionally connected customers deliver 306% higher lifetime value than the average buyer. Customers who feel like they belong to your brand community don’t just purchase more often—they forgive mistakes, defend your reputation, and become your most powerful advocates.

Why? 

Because belonging is not a marketing gimmick. It is a fundamental human need. Abraham Maslow placed it just after food, shelter, and safety in his hierarchy. We are hardwired to seek tribes, groups, and communities that affirm who we are.

Brands that understand this—Apple, Harley-Davidson, Patagonia, LEGO—don’t just sell products. They create identity, rituals, and shared experiences. Their customers aren’t just buyers; they’re members.

The CEO’s Opportunity

The CEOs who embrace belonging unlock growth that competitors cannot touch.

  • Patagonia built a billion-dollar business by standing for sustainability, earning 75% higher trust than its peers.
  • Salesforce turned its Dreamforce conference into a 170,000-person annual pilgrimage, transforming software into a movement.
  • Harley-Davidson created the Harley Owners Group, boosting repeat sales by 30% and turning riders into evangelists.

These examples prove that when brands give people a community to join, not just a product to buy, loyalty becomes exponential.

How to Start Creating Belonging

Building belonging to your brand doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intentional leadership. Here are three practical steps to start:

  1. Conduct an Emotional Branding Audit. Go beyond surveys and transactions. Ask: Where do customers feel a connection with us, and where do they feel indifferent?
  2. Build Community Touchpoints. Create rituals, forums, or shared experiences where your customers can see themselves reflected in others. (Think Harley rallies, Apple stores, or Starbucks as a “third place.”)
  3. Align Culture with Customers. Employees are the front line of belonging. Purpose-driven companies see 79% higher employee retention. When your people believe in the mission, your customers feel it.

The Payoff of Belonging

The results are undeniable:

  • Loyal customers spend 67% more.
  • Cult-brand customers are 32% more forgiving during crises.
  • And perhaps most importantly: customers who feel like they belong will bring their friends, family, and colleagues along with them.

Belonging is no longer optional. It is the growth multiplier of the future.

September 30, 2025 by