13 Nov The World Is Getting Bigger. Your Brand Should Bring People Closer.
Remember when everyone watched the same television shows?
We listened to the same music, saw the same commercials, and talked about the same things the next morning.
For marketers, life was pretty simple. Buy a commercial during a popular television program, and millions of people would see it.
Today, one person is watching a Korean drama. Another is listening to a podcast about ancient Rome. Someone else is watching a stranger restore a rusty lawn mower on YouTube.
And somewhere, thousands of people are passionately discussing something you’ve never heard of.
Welcome to the modern world.
We have more entertainment, more information, and more ways to communicate than at any point in human history.
But here’s what I find fascinating.
The way we communicate has changed dramatically. The reasons we communicate haven’t changed nearly as much.
And I think understanding that difference can help us build better businesses.
Why We Talk
In my work on Why We Talk, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about a simple question.
Why do people talk about certain things and completely ignore others?
Think about your conversations with friends.
You probably don’t call someone to announce that a company increased its market share by 3%.
But you might call to tell them about an amazing restaurant you discovered.
You might share a funny experience at a store, recommend a great book, or tell someone about a company that went out of its way to help you.
Why?
Because human beings are social creatures.
We talk to connect, express ourselves, share experiences, and strengthen relationships.
We also talk about things that reflect who we are.
A passionate dog lover doesn’t just share pictures of dogs because they’re cute. Those pictures express something about what matters to that person.
The same thing happens with music, sports, motorcycles, and brands.
When people talk about the things they love, they’re often telling others something about themselves.
That’s an important distinction for anyone building a business.
The Internet Didn’t Destroy Communities. It Created Millions of Them.
Marketers spend a lot of time worrying about media fragmentation.
And I understand why.
There was a time when MTV could introduce an artist to millions of people almost overnight.
Today, music fans can choose from an almost unimaginable collection of songs, artists, and genres.
The same thing is happening with movies, games, books, and entertainment.
Our audiences are splitting into smaller and smaller groups.
But there’s another way to look at this.
People are finding their tribes.
Someone who loves an obscure style of music can now connect with thousands of people who share that passion.
Magic enthusiasts can spend hours discussing a move invented a hundred years ago. Trust me, I’ve been in those conversations. They can get pretty serious.
Dog lovers can find communities where everyone understands why the dog gets the best seat on the couch.
These groups develop friendships, traditions, shared language, and stories.
And they talk.
A lot.
What marketers see as fragmentation, I see as an extraordinary opportunity for human connection.
You Don’t Need Everyone to Love Your Brand
One of the ideas we’ve explored for more than two decades at Cult Branding is that the strongest brands create meaningful relationships with customers who share their values.
Consider Harley-Davidson.
For many riders, the motorcycle represents much more than transportation. It’s freedom, adventure, identity, and friendship.
Or consider SCHEELS, a company we’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years.
People don’t simply visit SCHEELS to buy sporting goods. They come for experiences, discovery, and the enjoyment of sharing those experiences with family and friends.
A great day at the store becomes a story.
Someone tells a friend. A parent brings a child. A family returns.
Over time, these experiences become part of people’s lives.
And something wonderful happens.
Customers begin introducing other people to the brand.
Not because the company asked them to.
Because sharing something they love is a natural part of being human.
Attention Is Easy to Buy. Relationships Are Harder to Build.
Today, businesses have an extraordinary number of tools for reaching customers.
Social media, advertising, email, influencers, and now artificial intelligence.
AI is making it easier than ever to produce content.
Wonderful. Just what the world needed. Another 10,000 marketing messages before breakfast.
But producing more content doesn’t necessarily create more meaningful relationships.
I wonder if many businesses are asking the wrong question.
Instead of asking, “How do we get more people to notice us?”
What if we asked, “How do we become more meaningful to the people we serve?”
Those questions lead to very different decisions.
One might lead to another advertising campaign.
The other might lead to better customer service, a memorable experience, or a place where customers can connect with one another.
One focuses on capturing attention.
The other focuses on earning affection.
And affection can create something advertising alone cannot guarantee: genuine loyalty.
Give People Something Worth Talking About
Think about the brands you recommend to friends.
What makes you talk about them?
Maybe someone treated you with unexpected kindness.
Maybe a company made your life easier.
Maybe you had an experience that made you laugh.
Or maybe you discovered a group of people who made you feel like you belonged.
These are the experiences that travel through conversations.
And they’re worth thinking about when making business decisions.
Rather than simply creating more things to say to customers, we can create more opportunities for customers to experience something meaningful.
We can help them connect with each other.
We can listen to their stories.
We can build businesses that reflect the things they care about.
And we can give them reasons to return, not simply reasons to buy.
Bringing People Together
The world is getting bigger, noisier, and more fragmented.
But people still want the same things they’ve always wanted.
Friendship. Recognition. Shared experiences. A sense of belonging.
Technology hasn’t eliminated these needs. It’s simply given us new ways to fulfill them.
I find that encouraging.
You don’t have to reach everyone.
You don’t have to dominate every conversation.
You can build something wonderful for a group of people who genuinely care.
And when you take good care of those people, they’ll often do something extraordinary.
They’ll bring their friends.
The future may belong to businesses that understand a simple human truth.
We don’t just talk to exchange information. We talk to connect.
And the best brands give us something worth connecting over.