All Posts By

Salim Bueno

Our Work With Turner Classic Movies

Turner Classic Movies has always been more than just a television channel. For millions of devoted fans, it’s a trusted curator of cinematic history, a warm companion, and a symbol of timeless storytelling. But even the most beloved brands must evolve. TCM faced a challenge familiar to many established brands: they had an incredibly loyal audience, but most of that passion existed passively. The opportunity was clear. How could TCM turn deep emotional connection into active engagement and sustainable business growth, without compromising the soul of the brand?

That’s when they partnered with Cult Branding.

When we began working with the TCM team, our first focus was understanding the fans. Not just their viewing habits, but their identity, their rituals, and their emotional bond with classic films. We traveled across the country, interviewing viewers, listening to their stories, and uncovering the deeper human needs that TCM fulfilled. For many, TCM wasn’t just entertainment. It was a lifeline to the past, a connection to loved ones, and a way to feel part of something bigger. These insights became the foundation for everything that followed.

With a richer understanding of their Brand Lovers, we began translating that knowledge into action. Together, we mapped out opportunities to bring the TCM experience to life in new, meaningful ways. This wasn’t about merchandising or gimmicks. It was about creating experiences and products that deepened the relationship fans already had with the brand.

One of the first ideas to take flight was the TCM Classic Film Festival. Far more than a series of screenings, the festival became a pilgrimage for classic movie lovers—a place where they could celebrate their passion in person, surrounded by others who felt the same. It wasn’t long before the TCM Classic Cruise set sail, offering another immersive fan experience that extended the brand beyond the screen. We also supported the creation of a robust book publishing partnership with Running Press, resulting in over 40 titles that gave fans tangible, collectible extensions of the TCM universe.

The initiatives didn’t stop there. A national screening series in partnership with Fathom Events brought classic films to movie theaters across the country. A TCM Wine Club added a layer of lifestyle branding to the mix. Even auctions of entertainment memorabilia found a natural place in the TCM brand world. Each new venture was rooted in the emotional insights uncovered in our work together, ensuring they felt authentic, valuable, and on-mission.

Genevieve McGillicuddy, Vice President of Enterprises and Strategic Partnerships at TCM, described it best when she reflected on our collaboration:

 “The ideas we worked on with you and your team took off like a rocket ship once we launched the festival. I got to grow a team of 7 people who did the following: produce the annual TCM Festival, produce an annual TCM Classic Cruise, produce a publishing partnership of film books with Running Press, launch a fan club, build a profitable national screening series, launch the TCM Wine Club, and partner with auction houses to present auctions of entertainment memorabilia. I am so glad to tell you this and what came of the seeds of that work with you so many years ago. Thank you!”

This case shows what’s possible when a brand takes the time to listen to its audience, understand their emotional world, and co-create experiences that align with their values. TCM didn’t change who they were. They extended what made them great into new formats and platforms. The result was not only a more vibrant brand but a more profitable one.

For executives navigating how to grow in mature markets, the TCM story offers an important lesson. Sustainable growth often lies not in chasing new audiences, but in deepening the relationship with the audience you already have. The secret is knowing how to turn fan passion into purpose, and purpose into action.

If your brand has untapped emotional equity and you’re ready to turn love into loyalty and loyalty into growth, let’s talk.

Discover How Attending a Cult Branding Workshop Can Transform Your Team’s Communication, Collaboration, and Culture

Did you know The Cult Branding Company offers group workshops designed to align your team around what matters most: your customers?

Sometimes, stepping outside the daily grind is exactly what leaders and their teams need to recharge, reconnect, and reimagine the future together. Our workshops immerse teams in the principles that transformed Harley-Davidson, Apple, and Southwest Airlines into Cult Brands. When you bring your people together to learn, reflect, and co-create, the payoff goes far beyond skills; it strengthens culture, trust, and belonging.

Here are 5 Reasons Your Team Should Experience a Cult Branding Workshop:

1. Team Alignment Around What Truly Matters

When everyone is busy chasing deadlines, it’s easy to lose sight of your north star: the customer. In our workshops, your team steps away from daily routines to focus on aligning culture, purpose, and performance. Through guided exercises, you’ll reconnect with your “Brand Lovers,” the passionate few customers who drive the majority of your growth, and learn how to serve them in ways that inspire loyalty and advocacy.

2. Real-Time Application of Cult Branding Principles

Theory alone doesn’t stick. That’s why our sessions combine powerful frameworks with hands-on exercises that simulate real-world business challenges. Teams explore the Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding, like the Rule of Courage and the Rule of the Tribal Imperative, and then practice applying them to your brand. The result? A new playbook of actionable strategies that spark creativity and problem-solving.

3. Immersive Brand Experiences

Like Disney uses its parks as a “living laboratory,” we use your brand and customer data as the laboratory for transformation. Your team will see firsthand how companies like Patagonia and Apple designed communities, rituals, and customer experiences that generate resilience and loyalty. Then, together, we translate these lessons into field-ready strategies for your business.

4. Expert Guidance from Cult Branding Strategists

Our facilitators are not just trainers; they are brand anthropologists who have studied and advised some of the world’s most beloved companies. We don’t hand you generic solutions; we help your team uncover the unique DNA of your brand and translate it into experiences that make customers feel seen, understood, and loved.

5. The Learning Continues Beyond the Workshop

The real magic happens when your team takes the insights back into your culture. Our follow-up frameworks and coaching ensure your people don’t just learn about Cult Branding, they live it. From designing rituals that surprise and delight customers to embedding customer-first thinking in every department, the workshop becomes the catalyst for long-term cultural transformation.

Ready to Elevate Your Team?

If you want to strengthen communication, collaboration, and culture while building unbreakable loyalty, let’s talk.

Contact us to learn more about group workshops, executive retreats, and custom Cult Branding experiences designed to help your organization thrive in today’s volatile marketplace.

📩 [email protected] | 🌐 www.cultbranding.com

Bring The Cult Branding Company to Your Next Professional Event

Discover How Cult Branding Can Transform Your Next Gathering

Did you know you can bring The Cult Branding Company directly into your next leadership summit, association gathering, or corporate retreat? Whether you’re convening executives, managers, or cross-functional teams, we deliver unforgettable learning experiences designed to spark growth, strengthen culture, and create loyal communities.

Our sessions are more than talks; they’re catalysts for transformation. By blending psychology, anthropology, and real-world case studies from brands like Apple, Harley-Davidson, Patagonia, and Liquid Death, we turn your event into an opportunity for deep cultural alignment and inspiration.

Why Choose Cult Branding for Your Event?

It’s all about The Cult Branding Difference.

For over two decades, we’ve helped leaders across industries uncover the hidden drivers of human loyalty and belonging. We bring that expertise to your stage with keynotes, workshops, and immersive experiences that inspire teams to:

  • Align around a shared purpose and vision
  • Discover the emotional DNA of their customers
  • Design communities, rituals, and experiences that spark advocacy
  • Transform culture from the inside out

Elevate Your Next Meeting with Immersive Experiences

When you invite The Cult Branding Company to your event, you get the same depth, creativity, and attention to human needs that have guided the world’s most beloved brands. Our facilitators and speakers don’t just deliver insights; they immerse participants in frameworks and exercises that create immediate “aha” moments.

Whether it’s uncovering your Brand Lovers, exploring the Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding, or learning how to turn customers into lifelong advocates, every session is designed to deliver practical takeaways and long-term inspiration.

Bring Professional Development That Sticks

Our programs elevate professional gatherings by providing a firsthand look at how modern loyalty is built not through gimmicks, but by aligning identity, purpose, and belonging. Attendees walk away with tools to:

  • Strengthen leadership and communication
  • Build employee engagement and culture
  • Design consistent, high-quality customer experiences
  • Foster resilience and loyalty, even in volatile markets

Ready to Transform Your Next Event?

If you’re planning a conference, retreat, or summit and want to spark cultural transformation, let’s talk.📩 [email protected] | 🌐 www.cultbranding.com

Our Work With The Life is Good Company

The Life is Good Company started with a t-shirt and a smile. Founded by brothers Bert and John Jacobs, this American lifestyle brand built a loyal following with simple, optimistic messages and their iconic stick figure, Jake. But even beloved brands can lose momentum.

Despite a strong mission and widespread recognition, Life is Good reached a point where growth had stalled. The message of optimism remained powerful, but inside the company, inspiration was waning. They needed a way to reconnect with what made them great—not just in the eyes of consumers, but within their own team.

That’s where we came in.

When we began working with Life is Good, their leadership was looking for more than a marketing refresh. They needed clarity. The brand was at a crossroads, stuck in a cycle of incremental innovation and unsure of where to go next. They wanted to deepen their relationship with their customers and uncover new creative energy. Their goals were clear: identify their core values—what we call their “Super Powers”—understand their most devoted customers at a deeper level, and build a comprehensive brand and marketing playbook to guide the company forward.

We started by getting back to the basics: human nature. Using our proprietary Cult Branding framework, we helped the team rediscover the emotional foundation of their brand. Through a series of workshops and internal strategy sessions, we surfaced the core values that had fueled their early success. These values weren’t chosen from a list—they were uncovered from within. Optimism, courage, simplicity, and fun rose to the surface. These became the brand’s Super Powers. They reminded the team why they existed in the first place and gave the creative team a new lens through which to build the future.

Next, we turned outward and engaged directly with Life is Good’s most passionate customers—their Brand Lovers. Through in-depth interviews and story-driven research, we explored what Life is Good really meant to them. These were not just fans of the brand’s products. They were living embodiments of its values. We listened to their stories, their struggles, and their joys, uncovering a profound emotional connection that went far beyond cotton and ink.

These insights laid the foundation for a new strategy. We translated the findings into a clear, actionable brand playbook. This wasn’t a document meant to sit on a shelf. It was a living guide that inspired everything from new product lines to partnership opportunities. One of the most successful outcomes of the playbook was the creation of the Life is Good Festival, a real-world expression of the brand’s optimistic spirit. The festival didn’t just draw crowds—it created a shared experience for the brand’s community and deepened the emotional bond between Life is Good and its customers.

The results were immediate and lasting. The brand’s creative teams found new inspiration. Product development had a clearer purpose. Co-branding opportunities aligned more naturally with their mission. Most importantly, the brand’s connection with its audience grew stronger than ever. Life is Good didn’t just find its way forward. It rediscovered its soul.

As Bert Jacobs, Chief Executive Optimist of The Life is Good Company, put it:


“BJ Bueno and his team at The Cult Branding Company respect and understand what so many strategists miss: before we can be experts on products, sales, or the market, we must first be experts on human nature. They have a proven track record of building healthy, sustainable businesses for some of the best brands in the world.”

In the end, the path to renewed growth wasn’t about chasing trends or reinventing the wheel. It was about going inward, reconnecting with their purpose, and listening to the people who already loved them most. That’s the power of Cult Branding.

Ignite Creativity and Innovation with The Cult Branding Company

Unlock the Creative Power Within Your Organization Through Our New Program: “The Cult Branding Approach to Creativity and Innovation”

The world’s most beloved brands, Apple, Patagonia, Harley-Davidson, LEGO don’t just sell products. They continually reimagine themselves, fueling communities through creativity and innovation. At The Cult Branding Company, we’ve spent decades studying how these brands unleash imagination, transform culture, and create loyalty that lasts for life.

Reflecting on this commitment, we’re proud to introduce The Cult Branding Approach to Creativity and Innovation, a dynamic, experiential program designed to help leaders operationalize creativity as a strategic advantage.

Why Creativity and Innovation Matter

In today’s volatile marketplace, creativity is not optional—it’s the lifeblood of relevance and resilience. Studies show creativity ranks among the most important skills for leaders, while innovation is consistently a top global priority.

“Creativity is the engine that drives progress in every great brand,” says BJ Bueno, Founder of The Cult Branding Company. “In times of uncertainty, the organizations that ask better questions, spark imagination, and innovate with purpose are the ones that build unbreakable loyalty.”

Our new program gives leaders a proven roadmap to harness creativity—not as random inspiration, but as a repeatable, cultural practice.

What Awaits You

Participants will immerse themselves in the Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding, applying them as tools to unlock new possibilities. You’ll learn:

  • The “What If?” mindset to generate bold, original ideas.
  • The “Yes, If…” philosophy to advance concepts into actionable strategies.
  • How to design rituals, communities, and experiences that transform customer relationships.
  • Ways to evaluate your leadership style to better orchestrate team dynamics and spark collective imagination.

Experiential Learning in Action

The Cult Branding Approach goes far beyond theory. Each session is designed as an interactive journey with hands-on simulations, case studies, and immersive exercises that ensure practical takeaways.

Highlights include:

  • Case studies of iconic Cult Brands like Apple, Harley-Davidson, and Patagonia revealing how they operationalize creativity.
  • Collaborative simulations that show how to foster psychological safety, encourage idea flow, and turn creativity into impact.
  • Live brand audits where your team applies Cult Branding tools to uncover hidden opportunities in your business.

Through vibrant discussions and guided practice, leaders will leave with actionable strategies to:

  • Facilitate breakthrough brainstorming sessions.
  • Spot and seize untapped opportunities.
  • Align creativity with organizational strategy for measurable results.

Ready to Ignite Creativity Within Your Team?

If you want to fuel innovation, elevate culture, and unlock new pathways for growth, this program is for you.

📩[email protected] | 🌐 www.cultbranding.com

Our Work With David Blaine

David Blaine’s magic blurs the lines between illusion, art, and experience. Over more than two decades, he has captivated audiences around the world with performances that defy belief and linger long after the final moment. But as his work expanded into digital platforms like iTunes and Netflix, the question became clear. How could his visual identity evolve to meet the expectations of a digital audience without losing the mystery, tension, and emotional weight that defines his brand?

David Blaine turned to Cult Branding not just for updated artwork, but for a creative partner who could understand the essence of his brand and bring it to life in new ways. The goal was simple but ambitious. Refresh the artwork for all of his specials across major platforms, create a unified yet flexible visual identity, and ensure that each design felt like an authentic extension of his unique energy.

We began by exploring what makes Blaine’s brand so powerful. His performances are rooted in stillness, silence, tension, wonder. There is a minimalist clarity that runs through all of his work. Audiences are drawn not only to the illusion, but to the emotional weight of each moment. Every stunt is a story. Every stare, a question. That sense of presence had to translate visually in a space that favors fast scrolling and split-second decisions.

We also considered how modern digital platforms display visual content. A thumbnail on iTunes or Netflix must be instantly recognizable and emotionally charged, even at small sizes. We studied design hierarchy, color psychology, contrast, and negative space. Every detail matters when you have only a few seconds to stop someone in their tracks.

From there, we designed new covers for each of David Blaine’s specials. Some leaned into darker tones, using shadow and contrast to evoke suspense. Others brought the viewer in close, emphasizing eye contact or subtle facial expressions to convey intensity. We maintained a consistent visual language with typography, spacing, and layout, allowing each piece to stand on its own while reinforcing a broader brand identity. The result was a collection of covers that not only looked sharp on modern screens, but felt unmistakably Blaine.

The reaction from fans was immediate and positive. Longtime followers recognized the evolution while appreciating the continuity. New viewers were drawn in by the clean, modern, and intriguing visuals. The designs helped David’s specials stand out in crowded digital storefronts, where attention is fleeting and presentation is everything.

As David Blaine himself shared, “Working with BJ Bueno on updating the artwork for my specials was great. BJ is not just a branding expert, he’s a magician, making it incredibly fun to share ideas. He truly understood my brand, and we brought the project to life quickly.”

Beyond visual appeal, the refreshed artwork became a strategic asset. It improved discoverability, reinforced brand perception, and aligned every special under a cohesive creative vision. In an era where presentation often determines performance, that alignment mattered.

David Blaine’s case is a reminder that great content deserves equally great presentation. Visual identity is not just about aesthetics. It is a tool for storytelling, for signaling quality, and for building trust. For executives in entertainment, media, or consumer-facing content, this case highlights the importance of investing in brand coherence and creative strategy.

If your brand delivers compelling experiences but lacks consistency or clarity in how it shows up, now is the time to evolve. Design, when done well, becomes part of the experience.

Does Your Brand Look, Say, and Feel Right to Your Customer?

In the race for innovation, growth, and market share, many brands forget a simple truth: customers don’t fall in love with complexity—they fall in love with clarity.

At the heart of every Cult Brand is a clear and consistent emotional experience. And one of the fastest ways to evaluate your brand’s connection with its customer is through three deceptively simple words: Look, Say, Feel.

🔍 Look:

Does your visual identity tell a compelling story before you say a word?

If your logo vanished, would customers still recognize you from your imagery, packaging, or website? 

What story is your storefront, homepage, or ad layout telling your Brand Lover?

🗣 Say:

Are you speaking with your customer or at them?

Look at your headlines, email subject lines, product descriptions—do they express a real point of view, or are they interchangeable with your competitors? 

Can your customer quote your brand back to you?

💓 Feel:

What emotional signature does your brand leave behind?

Are you designing your brand for utility or for resonance?

How do your customers feel after interacting with you—and does your team know?Most executives focus on strategy and operations. But perception is the soil that trust and loyalty grow from. If your brand doesn’t Look, Say, and Feel aligned with your customer’s internal world, you’re not building a brand—you’re managing a commodity.

Marvel’s Multiverse of Loyalty

Marvel Studios may be facing theatrical turbulence, but its brand remains strong.

While critics point to “superhero fatigue” and underperforming films, Marvel has never relied solely on its box office performance. The brand’s real power lies in how it connects with its most loyal fans—its Brand Lovers—across comics, animation, games, television, merchandise, and events.

As outlined in the Cult Branding Workbook, true brand loyalty stems from meaningful relationships. Marvel continues to nurture these relationships across multiple channels, even when the spotlight dims on one.

Comics and Games: Engines of Loyalty

While moviegoers may hesitate, core fans are diving into Marvel’s newly rebooted Ultimate Universe, a fresh take on classic characters designed with reader feedback in mind. At the same time, the launch of Marvel Rivals, a multiplayer game with Twitch integrations and a $500,000 global tournament, shows Marvel’s investment in participatory brand experiences.

Consumers want to be part of something different. These ecosystems reward speculation, identity, and shared rituals—hallmarks of Cult Brand behavior.

Lessons for Brand Leaders

Brands must manage three dimensions—offering, space, and time—to create compelling experiences. Marvel excels here, orchestrating comics, games, shows, and films as interconnected touchpoints. From comic shop visits to Twitch streams to streaming binge sessions, fans are given constant opportunities to engage.

The Takeaway

Marvel’s strength is not just its intellectual property—it’s the multichannel relationship it maintains with its Brand Lovers. That’s what makes it a Cult Brand. When one format underperforms, the emotional connection remains intact because the brand lives in many places fans already care about.

For brand builders, the question is clear: Are we creating a brand that lives across the touchpoints our customers already use, or are we still hoping they’ll only meet us on our terms?

It’s All in the Recovery: Branding Lessons from Billy Joel

“I once asked a truly great chef how he got to be so good. He said, ‘It’s all in the recovery. How you correct your mistakes.’”
—Billy Joel, And So It Goes

There’s a quiet brilliance in that quote from Billy Joel’s new documentary. It’s not about perfection, it’s about resilience. About owning the moment after the moment goes wrong. For great chefs, artists, and yes, great brands, what separates the average from the exceptional is how they respond when things don’t go as planned.

In the Cult Branding Workbook, we discuss the critical difference between brands people like and those they love. That difference often reveals itself in how a brand recovers, how it listens, how it adjusts, and how it honors the relationship with its most loyal customers.

Mistakes Are Human. Recovery Is Emotional

All brands make mistakes. A product flop. A tone-deaf campaign. A change that alienates your best customers. It’s easy to freeze, deflect, or overcorrect in those moments. But Cult Brands lean into the opportunity instead.

Why? Because recovery is one of the most intimate acts a brand can perform. It says, “We see you. We hear you. You matter.”

Netflix has misfired on pricing and programming decisions more than once, but the speed and clarity of its recovery often deepen loyalty. Apple has walked back design changes, not out of fear, but because listening to its core users is part of the brand’s DNA. These aren’t signs of weakness. They’re signals of trust.

The Cult Branding Rule of Contribution

In the Cult Branding framework, recovery aligns with the Golden Rule of Contribution: Cult Brands always give back. Owning a mistake and making it right is a powerful way of giving back to your Brand Lovers. It shows humility. It shows strength. And it builds something that can’t be bought: credibility.

Customers don’t expect perfection. But they remember how you made them feel when things went wrong.

Leadership in the Recovery Moment

As Billy Joel reminds us, recovery is a craft. It takes intention. It takes humility. And it takes leadership.

Ask yourself:

  • When something goes wrong in your customer experience, do you have a system for turning it into a deeper connection?
  • Is your internal team empowered to make things right in real-time?
  • Do you know what “recovery” looks like from your Brand Lover’s perspective?

True brand loyalty isn’t built in the launch moment. It’s built in recovery.

The Art of Being Human

Billy Joel’s story isn’t just a music story; it’s a human story. And Cult Branding is, at its core, a human-centered strategy. Your customers don’t need you to be flawless. They need you to be real. And when you fall short, they need to know you care enough to get it right.

That’s where loyalty lives. So the next time your brand faces a misstep, don’t panic. Recover well. Because, as Billy said, that’s where the magic is.

The Loyalty Multiplier: Why Openness Builds Unshakable Brands

Most companies chase the “ideal customer.” They build entire campaigns around demographic precision, age ranges, income brackets, and buyer personas. But Cult Brands do the opposite.

They don’t narrow their audience.
They open their arms.

The Cult Branding Rule of Openness is simple: Cult Brands are radically inclusive. They don’t build walls. They build invitations.

Openness Isn’t Just Nice, It’s Strategic

According to the Cult Branding Workbook, “Cult Brands don’t discriminate. They openly embrace anyone who is interested in their companies.”

This isn’t about political correctness or inclusivity for its own sake. It’s about understanding a deeper truth: people don’t want to feel like customers—they want to feel like they belong.

Openness taps into three of Maslow’s most powerful human needs:

  • Belonging
  • Self-esteem
  • Self-actualization

When brands meet those needs, they move from being a product in someone’s cart to a part of someone’s identity.

Let’s take a look at two brands that embody this.

Costco: One Price. One Club. Everyone’s Welcome.

Costco doesn’t care what you drive, where you live, or what your job title is. The warehouse is the great equalizer.

You pay your annual fee, and you’re in. You push the same oversized cart, stand in the same sample lines, and get the same deal on 48 rolls of toilet paper as the guy in front of you. Whether you’re a retiree, a single parent, or a tech CEO, the experience is shared—and that’s the point.

By removing barriers and leveling the playing field, Costco fosters a culture of value, trust, and belonging. Their membership isn’t exclusive; it’s inclusive. And that’s why people renew year after year without a second thought.

The Savannah Bananas: If You Show Up, You’re Part of the Show

The Savannah Bananas are a baseball team, but calling them that barely scratches the surface. They’ve turned the sport into a joyful, rule-breaking circus. And what makes it work? Radical openness.

Banana Ball isn’t just for sports fans. It’s for kids, parents, comedy lovers, tourists, and anyone who wants to have a good time. You don’t need to know the rules. You don’t even need to like baseball. If you’re in the stadium, you’re part of the experience.

From dancing players to mic’d-up umpires to fans dictating rules mid-game, the Bananas tear down every wall between performer and spectator. They’ve reimagined baseball by asking one simple question: How do we make everyone feel included?

And it’s working. Every game sells out. Every crowd cheers louder. And fans don’t just leave with memories, they leave feeling like insiders.

Openness Wins Where Precision Fails

Exclusive branding may feel sophisticated, but it often alienates the very people who could become your most passionate advocates.

Openness expands your surface area for loyalty. It allows unexpected fans to step forward. It builds emotional equity by giving people a place where they feel seen.

Here’s the irony: the more open you are, the more cult-like your following becomes. Because people don’t tattoo exclusivity. They tattoo belonging.

For Brand Leaders: Questions to Ask This Week

  • Are we unknowingly excluding people through our language, imagery, or tone?
  • Where can we lower the barrier to entry without diluting the experience?
  • How can we build rituals or experiences that make new customers feel like insiders from Day One?

The Cult Branding Rule of Openness isn’t about appealing to everyone. It’s about welcoming anyone who feels the pull.

Let them in, and they just might never leave.