Most commercial messages contain too many elements, all competing with one another for our understanding, and the elements themselves may be uninteresting, unclear, or off-message.
Marty Neumeier, Zag
Companies try to make their brands stand out and be different: they try to constantly be new to gain a competitive advantage. In short, they use newness as a path to relevance. But, this quest to be relevant has affected their ability to be meaningful.
Magic has long held a special place in the nation’s history. American magicians perform in arenas, theaters, and even backyards. No matter how big or small, a magic show will always inspire wonder.
Today as a member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, I am honored that the United States Postal Service delivered these Forever stamps.
Brands are a unique combination of a set of ideas and inanimate objects that serve as an ideal platform for relationships. When people feel bound to a group or community of shared beliefs around a brand where at least part of their identity is tied to the group, it’s a phenomenon known as participation mystique.
These brands spark magical participation with their customers; they embrace a particular way of being, aligned to a specific set of beliefs.
When brands attract customers to come together something magical happens, now let’s make that happen for you and your team.
To help you think more magical thoughts try these juxtapositions:
If my company was Zappos how would we WOW our customers?
If our company was Disney how would we give our customers a magical day?
If our brand was Houdini what problems can I help my customers escape?
By thinking like other great magical brands, you will discover magic of your own.
Now what do you want out of me? Fine writing? Do you want masterpieces? Do you want glowing things that can be framed by copywriters? Or do you want to see the goddamned sales curve stop moving down and start moving up?
Rosser Reeves in Dennis Higgins’ The Art of Writing Advertising
Marketers are quick to blame agencies for their ineffectiveness. And it’s true: I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen agencies produce off-brand advertising that didn’t resonate with their customers; but hell, it looks pretty and gets likes. I’ve even seen a major agency try to get a company to fund research for an ad slogan that was not only off-brand but was impossible to understand—on the bright side, it was the first time they actually tried to gather data to inform an ad.
But, the fault isn’t solely with the agencies, it’s also with the companies hiring them. Many companies don’t know what they want to get out of a marketing initiative, so they don’t articulate it to the agency, and then the agency produces whatever the agency wants instead of what the company needs.
Every initiative, whether it’s a television ad campaign or the way you handle your Facebook page, should have a goal. And, the goal doesn’t have to be monetary. What is has to be is something that ties into your vision—what you want your brand to become.
Using the vision as a guide, you can create strategies—the overarching plans to get you to your vision—that result in a series of tactics—the steps it’ll take to get you there.
Marketing initiatives fall under the tactics bubble and must be measured in that context. Think: What do I want this initiative to do in a way that fits a strategy that pushes the company towards its ultimate vision.?
Thinking in this way makes it easy to then develop a simple metric to test the effectiveness of the initiative and be able to hold an agency accountable for the results.
Acting this way will ensure your marketing initiatives are on brand; make agencies produce better, more meaningful work; and, it will stop you from being so frustrated with your lack of return on your marketing spend.
“Accounting is a department. Marketing isn’t. Marketing is something everyone in your company is doing 24/7/365.”
Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, Rework
A brand isn’t a name or a logo: it’s the perception people have of your organization. Everything your company and employees do contribute to this perception: how an associate greets a customer at checkout; how your television ads looks and feel and what they say; how you respond on social media; and even what the mailroom clerk tells their friends about what it’s like to work at your company.
Everyone in the company can influence perception, so they can influence the brand. In other words, everyone in the company plays some role in your company’s marketing.
To make everyone an effective marketer, everyone must be on the same page. This is why it’s so important to understand your Brand DNA (the human core of your brand and the problems you solve) and and then translate it into both a vision (what you want the company to become) and a set of core values (what the company stands for) that are understandable by every person in your organization.
With an easily-understood vision and a set of core values that are rooted in human needs, every person in your company can be motivated by your ultimate goal and understand what behaviors contribute toward and what behaviors work against what you are trying to achieve.
In Alexander the Great’s conquest of Persia, the Macedonian King upset his military compatriots and childhood friends by marrying Roxana.
Roxana was the daughter of a minor Persian baron. That is, she was not from Macedonia; she was not of Greek blood.
This outraged Alexander’s men who felt that he was disrespecting his homeland. But Alexander didn’t identify himself exclusively as Macedonian or Greek. This great military strategist had a grand vision to create an empire that united the world as one people.
Alexander understood one of the Seven Rules of Cult Brands: Be open and inclusive.
The ideals of Vans shoes, for example, probably aren’t going to speak to you if you’re not in the skateboard community. IKEA isn’t going to draw your attention if you aren’t in the market for affordable furniture that gives your home a sense of style.
The annual, week-long, Burning Man event now attracts over 65,000 attendees to the Black Rock Desert each August. Anyone can participate. As written in their ten guiding principles, “Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.”
And the full range of attendees from artists to billionaires, to Silicon Valley CEOs, demonstrate that the not-for-profit is true to its word.
The more inclusive you are, the more customer groups you open your business to and the larger your market potential becomes.
To become a more inclusive brand requires diligence. Being inclusive means gaining insights into new customer groups and then collaborating with your teams to discover ways of relating these new customers to your business, and serving them with respect.
How inclusive is your business today?
How inclusive do you want your business to be tomorrow?
THE BIG IDEA: Certain businesses excel at fostering undying, cult-like following among their customers. Our study of Cult Brands reveals seven rules any business can follow to attract loyal customers.
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Some customers have a religious devotion to a particular brand. They may go so far as to permanently scorch their skin with the logo or image of the brand they love.
While this may appear extreme to you, fifteen years of research into Cult Brands has shown us that the psychological reasons behind cult followings illuminate the drivers behind customer loyalty in any business.
So even if you don’t aspire to have customers tattoo your logo onto their heads, if you’re interested in creating loyal, profitable customers, there’s a lot to learn from Cult Brands.
Cult Brands create emotional experiences that lead to feelings of belonging, a sense of shared consciousness with a group of people. The customers of Cult Brands often feel like part of a family instead of consumers of a business. This is a powerful, emotional connection.
Apple, Harley, IKEA, Star Trek, Zappos, MINI, and The Motley Fool all invite their customers into their clan.
So how do they do it?
We’ve identified seven core rules that all Cult Brands tend to share. These rules are the fundamental tenets that all Cult Brands consciously or instinctively follow as they do business.
Keeping these rules in mind makes it easier to decide how to grow your business and foster loyalty.
The Seven Rules of Cult Brands provide a framework for ongoing business success. As you read through each rule, think about ways you can apply it to your organization.
Cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead summed up the challenge facing today’s marketers: “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”
Your customers are driven by two simultaneous desires that appear to be diametrically opposed to each other. They want to stand out from the crowd and be a unique individual while simultaneously wanting (and needing) to be part of the crowd, receiving the social support and approval of like-minded individuals.
How do people meet these opposing needs? By belonging to a group they identify as being unique, often outside of mainstream society.
If you’ve got a home, you need furniture. The community of people who need furniture is considerable. But the community of people who need furniture with minimalist charm and serious organizational capacity (and enjoy quirky Swedish names) is smaller and distinct—just different enough to make IKEA irresistible to legions of their fans.
Your customers want to be part of a group that’s different. It’s that simple.
Even in the face of doubters and critics, Cult Brands dare to be different—and succeed. Cult Brands are successful because they are wholly unlike every other company in the marketplace.
Cult Brands believe in themselves, their products and services, and their customers. They want to challenge conventional wisdom and transform it when given the chance. Willing to take significant risks, the people behind Cult Brands are fighters and leaders, not quitters or followers.
When Whole Foods started in 1980, there were less than six natural foods supermarkets in the United States. Today, the natural and organic foods market is estimated at more than $28.6 billion.
Cult Brands, however, don’t waste their time or energy worrying about who is following them. Their attention is focused on how to better serve their customers.
Cult Brands sell more than a product or a service. Customers want more than just things; they are seeking experiences.
Experiential purchases are more meaningful than material purchases. As such, all Cult Brands sell lifestyles. They develop and sell “the tools” that help their customers pursue their dreams and celebrate distinct lifestyles.
Cult Brands remove barriers for their customers. The would-be musician no longer needs to shell out thousands of dollars for expensive instruments and equipment. They just need to download the right apps onto their iPad, and they’re ready to rock.
Apple promotes a creative lifestyle that facilitates self-expression. Jimmy Buffett celebrates life as a party. The Life is good Company promotes a laid-back weekend BBQ with friends.
Your customers have aspirations. Those aspirations are powered by emotions. If you can support your customers in the realization of their aspirations, they will associate their positive emotions with your business.
Cult Brands focus on serving the wants and needs of the customers they have. They have the ability to listen to their customers’ discontent and create solutions that build strong, enduring loyalty.
By listening, Amazon.com discovered that the high cost of shipping interfered with how often their customers made purchases. In response, they launched Amazon Prime in 2005, a program in which members enjoy unlimited free two-day shipping in exchange for a yearly fee.
It’s an initiative that has been more successful than anyone could have ever imagined. Over 20 million people are Amazon Prime members. The typical Amazon Prime member buys as much as 150 percent more than non-Prime members. It’s a powerful example of the results of listening.
Respect your choir. Listen to them. Value their opinions. Reward them. Never ignore an enthusiastic follower of your business. Remember that all core followers want to believe, but first, they need to see miracles in the form of unexpected gifts and surprises.
Do extraordinary things for your choir and they’ll become incredible brand evangelists.
Cult Brands know how to build strong, ongoing relationships with their customers by developing and supporting customer communities.
Cult Brands aren’t afraid to use today’s profits to support customer communities to generate powerful, long-term goodwill for their businesses and their brands.
When possible, they establish social events that reflect their missions. MINI created their annual Take the State tour. Life Is Beautiful puts on their popular Music Festival each year. Harley supports HOG Rallies worldwide. (We attended their 105th Anniversary event in Milwaukee and recorded the magic.)
You don’t have to earn your way into a Cult Brand by proving you’re cool enough. Cult Brands take it as a given that you’re already cool enough.
Cult Brands welcome customers of all ages, races, creeds, and socioeconomic backgrounds with open arms. They don’t discriminate against anyone who doesn’t fit into an idealized customer profile. Everyone is welcome.
Cult Brands prove to their customers that they are indeed open and inclusive by helping to fulfill the deep human needs that we all share, including belonging and self-esteem.
Deep inside every human being on this planet is a need for freedom.
According to Abraham Maslow, the feeling of freedom is a bridge to self-actualization: we want to be able to grow and express our own unique identity and worldview without fear of consequences.
Harley promotes freedom on the open road. Vans promotes freedom from convention. Linux promotes freedom of information. Apple promotes creativity and self-expression.
Cult Brands are empowering and expansive. When customers engage with a Cult Brand, they come away feeling like they can do more, and do it more effectively.
Integrating the Seven Rules of Cult Brands into your operations expands the number of ways you can tap into the forces of customer loyalty.
Consistent application of these principles will strengthen the bond you have with your existing all-star customers, while simultaneously creating new customers.
As your customers deepen their emotional connection with you, their loyalty will grow. Your organization will become stronger, more resilient, and more differentiated.
Oh, you’ll probably become more profitable too.
The media industry is bifurcated into two distinct worlds: the struggling traditional segment that longs for a simple, more profitable past that will never return; and the vibrant entrepreneurial segment that is reinventing commerce before our eyes.
Justin Smith, CEO Bloomberg Media Group, 2013 memo
It‘s true: we’re in a period of rapid invention that is changing business and leaving antiquated models in the dust. But, the businesses succeeding aren’t reinventing commerce; they’re returning to an old form of commerce where individual customers matter more than demographic groups.
Technology allowed businesses to become bullies: it enabled them to tell consumers what to think and at scale.
But, technology has a way of always returning to human nature: people want to feel like they’re part of a community and be heard–not to be told what to want.
Instead of adapting to the empowered customer and using the human characteristics that new technology has enabled, most businesses have become like Stuart Larkin–the MAD TV character obsessed with attention–shouting, “me, me, me,” and hoping that if they’re loud enough and crazy enough, people will pay attention.
And, many think they’re on the right track with the attention they received. But, attention is easy; mattering is hard.
Businesses are still using old metrics by counting attention in the form of likes and views. But, likes and views don’t correlate to sales. The reason is simple: attention ≠ meaning.
People don’t care about most of their followers or friends on social media. They’re less likely to care about a faceless business. What they do care about is recognition from their followers and brands. They want to be heard, they want to be recognized, and they want to be understood.
These should be your goals because people care about their me more than your me.
It’s the expectation in the new MEdia.
Mattering to customers can no longer be ignored. In the future, businesses will no longer be able to ignore mattering to their employees.
The successful companies in the future will create brands that customers and employees love. They will create meaning.
In short, they’ll be human.
How do you put archetypes to work?
Start at the center.
The center is unique for each organization.
Your strengths hint at it.
Your organization’s passions point you in the right direction.
The forces that drive your customers to do business with you provide invaluable clues.
This center should be expressed in your ultimate vision, your core values, and the language of your corporate culture.
How will you know when you’ve found your center?
Your heart will awaken.
Your employees will come together as teams. Innovation will increase by the passions of the men and women guided by archetypal forces deep within them. Your stakeholders will observe it. Your customers will hear the call to adventure.
Remember: the more archetypal, the more essential, and the more human your center is, the more cohesive your organization will become. And, the more easily you’ll attract customers who want to join forces with you.
Onward!
When you uncover your business’s archetypes you get to know the DNA of your organization. It is from these fundamental symbolic images that all of the desired behavior for employees and customers spring.
When you know your archetypes, you can ensure consistency in your culture and your branding.
Your understanding of archetypes:
These key insights can transform the future of your business. With this understanding, your team can find creative ways to consistently play and express these images and needs in ways that are meaningful to your customers and your employees.
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P.S. Listen to our discussion on the future of retail with SAP’s Global Vice President’s Nancy Case and best-selling author Scott McKain: Retail Relevancy: Distinction Trumps Differentiation.
In today’s cluttered and over-assorted market, the conversation in organizations often focuses on the importance of brand differentiation. The need to create or identify a position or particular area of emphasis that is different than what competitors currently offer customers. At face value, the idea of differentiation appears healthy and serves to foster crucial internal dialogue that can help shape and improve a company’s product or service.
But if you look deeper, the focus on differentiation as a driving discussion for a company or brand is flawed. The primary reason is that differentiation starts with a focus on what competitors are doing and not necessarily on what the customer wants, needs, or will value in your brand. The goal is not to be different from a competitor to compete but to be more valuable to a customer than your competitor. But “differentiation analysis” often doesn’t lead you in that direction, it tends to focus around what you shouldn’t do because someone else is already doing it, versus helping you identify what you should do to win more customers.
I encourage you to stop overemphasizing what your competitors are doing and to start focusing on what you can do to make your brand more desirable than your competitors in the eyes of your target consumers. And sometimes that means doing exactly what they are doing, only better.
As a guide, here are three core areas that you can explore to drive brand desire with today’s consumers.
At the top of Maslow’s famous hierarchy sit Esteem and Self-Actualization. And never has the need for being “actualized” (even if in a superficial way) been more transparent. Thank you, Selfie-Nation. Consumers make hundreds of purchase decisions a year based on whether or not a product helps them “feel” more personally confident and/or more “esteemed” within their social circles. There are dozens of other dimensions that play into self-esteem that we don’t have time to go through here, but a simple google search will help you find them.
Brands can increase value and win amongst their competitive set by creating products/services that enhance the self-esteem of their customers better than their competitors. Of course, the key is doing the customer field work necessary to identify which dimension(s) you need to enhance to elevate your impact.
Brands like Nike focus on making you believe you are your best athlete through brand positioning/advertising, businesses like LVMH focus on creating a sense of prestige through exclusivity/quality/pricing with their brands, Apple focuses on making you feel relevant/on-trend through design aesthetics/frequent product enhancements, and Starbucks elevates your feelings of sophistication through the product experience.
Do you think any of the above brands are worried about being “different” from their competitors or do you think they are focused on building, strengthening, and maintaining their positions in the eyes of their customers?
Being useful is still one of the most straightforward and most direct ways for a brand or business to succeed. To understand the potential of this dimension you have to define “utility” in its correct terms and understand the dimensions of “utility” as they affect the consumers in your particular industry.
In retail, utility comes in the form of low prices, broad assortments, convenience, ease of shopping, friendly staff, and the list goes on. In the automobile industry (excluding the luxury segment which operates first on self-esteem, and secondarily on utility), it can be horsepower, towing capacity, safety, technology integration, and other options.
One of my favorite recent examples of winning on utility is Uber. Uber revolutionized the taxi and car service industry by creating an incredibly useful new product. Now some have argued that Uber won on the cool factor, which would be connected to Self Esteem. And don’t get me wrong, it’s cool, and it helped you look even cooler among your social circle if you were an early adopter, but that is not why it grew so fast. It exploded because scheduling a car service for about the same price you could pay while standing on the corner waving your hand like a maniac was better in every way. You were not cold in the winter, hot in the summer, wet in the rain, the cars were cleaner, the drivers were more helpful, and they showed up when you wanted them too. Now that is useful.
My point here is that if the Uber leadership team had started by saying, how can we be different than the competition. I don’t think they would have landed on the current product. Their solution was a customer first approach (i.e., they were starting with how do you make the customers experience better in every way, not different). Disruption almost always rises from being customer centric.
This last dimension of desire has evolved rapidly over the last decade or so. I believe, in part, due to social media and the shared experience, it creates for all of us. As well as because some visionary leaders felt that doing good could be an essential part of good business.
In this space, brands are focused on finding ideas and belief systems that a group of consumers rallies around. It could be social consciousness, environmental consciousness, or even an activity like running or yoga. Several brands have capitalized successfully on this dimension over the last decade. Think Toms shoes for social well-being, or Lululemon and their fanatically Yogi base that establish a brand that has become so much more, or Method cleaning products and the environmentally minded with whom they connected. Although this area is arguably related to self-esteem at some level, it is a significant enough sub-area that I feel it should be broken out. Also, I view the focus here as being less self-centered than brands built around self-esteem.
Importantly, we are seeing significant brands use this area very differently than their traditional self-esteem models to build strong brand connections. Think the Superbowl ad by Budweiser where they show their factories being converted to “canned water” plants. Or, Aerie’s stand on no-retouching as a way to connect with the Body Positivity minded young women or P&G’s support of the mothers of Olympic athletes.
I share these frameworks because they are the ones I have used as a guide over the last 20 years and across six leading brands to help build “desired” and not necessarily “differentiated” brands.
Always start with your customer and not your competitors. I know this is easier said than done. We love to talk about our competitors because they are so knowable. Everything they do is documented so clearly in the products they make, the marketing they produce, and often the financial statements they publish.
Customers, on the other hand, are often difficult to know, their lives are less public, and even when they are (thanks again social media), it requires significant effort to aggregate it into digestible information. And even when you can see how they have behaved at large, it is still hard to understand their internal motivations and drivers. But that is where the ideas are that will help you build something truly “desirable.”
Fight the hard fight; it will be worth it in the end.
Brian Beitler has led the marketing teams for several leading brands including Kohl’s, Bath & Body Works, Hot Wheels, David’s Bridal, and Lane Bryant, among others. He believes in pushing brands to think differently about how they engage and earn loyalty from their customers, and is driven by the belief that the key to success is listening to your customers personally and first hand, and then combining those personal insights with big data to innovate your brand strategy, products, experience, and marketing. He is currently Chairman of the Board for the Global Retail Marketing Association.