Cult Brands belong to the world’s most powerful brands and have thus increasingly garnered attention and sparked interest. To date though, there is no common understanding of what a cult brand actually is. As a pioneer in this field, Dimitri Wittwer focused his dissertation on these kinds of brands. In his research he revealed the key characteristics of cult brands, drawing on interdisciplinary literature and both qualitative and quantitative research with more than 5,000 participants ranging from con- sumers to experts in a variety of disciplines. The author empha- sizes the strong relevance of a brand’s cultural change orienta- tion in its evolution to becoming a cult brand and develops two models: the Cult Brand Model focusing on building cult brands and the Cult Brand Status Scale allowing the measurement of a brand’s cult status from a consumer perspective.
Like religious cults that can attract thousands of devoted disciples, is it possible for company brands to build legions of loyal followers? In a marketer's dream come true, can certain products—with the right combination of positioning and branding—take on magnetic characteristics and galvanize die-hard customers who become walking, talking viral marketers? Can your company harness the power of cult branding without blowing a fortune on advertising? According to authors Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno the answer is yes. In fact, you need not look much farther than a Harley-Davidson rally, a Star Trek convention, or a Jimmy Buffett concert to see the cult branding phenomenon at work: thousands of passionate, faithful fans spreading the good word and spending lots of money. Not all brands have the dash of edginess, the devoted fan base, or the niche positioning to be cult brands. But those that do tend to share similar characteristics that make them successful, what the authors call the Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding. Through meticulous research and scores of interviews Ragas and Bueno have uncovered the remarkable and oft-untold stories behind nine very successful cult brands: ·Star Trek ·Harley-Davidson ·Oprah Winfrey ·World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly WWF) ·Apple ·Volkswagen Beetle ·Jimmy Buffett ·Vans Shoes ·Linux These nine brands follow the Seven Golden Rules and have millions of fans and billions of dollars in revenue to show for it. Now you can learn first hand what these special brands did to set themselves apart and how to apply the Seven Golden Rules to your own marketing strategies. Written for advertisers, marketers, sales executives, and business owners who want to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace, The Power of Cult Branding is the ultimate guide to creating a loyal core of repeat customers and winning the positioning battle.
Marketing expert Douglas Atkin has spent years re- searching both full-blown cults and companies that use cult-branding techniques. He interviewed countless cult members to discover what makes them tick. And he explains exactly how brands like Harley-Davidson and Apple make their customers feel unique, important and part of an exclusive group - and how that leads to solid, long-term relationships between a company and its customers. In addition to describing a fascinating phenom- enom, it will be of enormous value to businesses as it reveals the secret to customer loyalty.
There is possibly no other company which is so casual and at the same time so powerful as the computer and entertainment manufacturer Apple. The company controls the online-music market, the market for portable music players and is now capturing the high-tech mobile phone market. Apple moves into new electronic markets with strong competitors, in order to monopolise them just a short time later. The CEO, Steve Jobs, has brought a brand into being that is different and at the same time mainstream. A strong magnetic brand which yields more influence in people’s life than one would care to admit. This is absolutely the reason why every company in the world wishes for a strong magnetic brand which can be defined as a “CULT BRAND”. They get repeatedly chosen over the competition. They bring higher prices than the competition. And if they are a strong enough brand their customers not only use their products, but evangelize them to the world. This project aims to analyze Apple’s marketing activities in order to figure out, what makes this company so successful. It adds to the traditional marketing theory, the new theory of “cult marketing” because traditional marketing delivers no approach to explain the behavior of cult brands. The phenomena of a Cult Brand are comparable to the patterns of a religion and Apple as well has strong believers. When it comes to their favorite brand, they enjoy telling who ever will listen how great it is and why they love it so much. People are camping in front of Apple’s stores just to get their latest innovative product. And if their Messiah, Steve Jobs, enters the stage to introduce a new product to thousands of viewers, he brings the house down. This book discusses Apple‘s unique Marketing Strategy and delivers a guidline on the Example of Apple of the needed conditions to convert an ordinary brand into a „CULT BRAND“.
This engaging text introduces readers to the sociology of cults. Covering the history and current state of cult studies, this book includes topics ranging from doomsday cults and new religious movements through to self-help cults, the cult of celebrity, intellectuals, and entrepreneurs. Case studies as varied as David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, the Manson family, and the cult brands of Elon Musk, Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson are deployed to shed new light on cult formation in the twenty-first century. Amidst the rise of populist demagogues, the online radicalisation of alienated individuals, and the proliferation of celebrities and gurus with avid followings, cult dynamics are everywhere in society. Yet key urgent questions have not been clearly and concisely addressed: What are cults? Why do they emerge? How are they established and maintained? What is the future of cults, and why are we so fascinated by them? This book explores these questions by tracing the spectrum of cult formation historically and in today’s networked media ecosystem. This accessible introduction to the darkly fascinating world of cults is essential reading for academics and students of sociology, social psychology, religion, politics, business and cultural studies, and anyone interested in understanding the relationship between cults and society.
In today's Asia, you are what you wear. The Cult of the Luxury Brand is the first book to explore how and why an amazing "luxeplosion" is rocking Asia, sweeping up not just the glitzy upper crust, but secretaries toting their Burberry bags, junior executives sporting Rolex watches, and university students in Ferragamo shoes. Hong Kong boasts more Gucci and Hermes stores than New York or Paris. China's luxury market is growing with such gusto that it will single-handedly be the biggest by 2014. Even India, the new kid on the luxury block, has three-month waiting lists for hot items, while in Tokyo, the epicenter of the cult, 94 percent of women in their 20s own a Louis Vuitton bag. The cult of the luxury brand is so powerful that Asian consumers account for as much as half of the $80 billion global luxe industry. Radha Chadha and Paul Husband explain the paradox of simultaneously pumping up your product's status while pumping it out to the masses. They crack the code of the cult, offering a tried-and-tested approach to creating an explosive following for your brand. They outline a powerful model that explains the spread of luxury in developed markets such as Japan and Hong Kong, while predicting the future course for emerging markets such as China and India. They also examine the phenomenon of "geniune fakes," impossible to tell from the real thing but detracting from its sales. Written by world-leading experts in a highly accessible style, the book draws on over 150 interviews with industry experts, market studies in 10 countries, and the authors' collective experience across Asia. It offers a glimpse of the thriving retail scene, from glorious flagship stores in Tokyo to bustling local markets in Seoul, and compares the various consumer segments to understand the inner motives for their obsession. It demonstrates how the continent's massive economic and social transformation is dismantling centuries-old ways of defining your place in society, and how your spot on today's social totem pole is marked by your Chanel suit and your Cartier watch. Whether you are a business professional targeting the Asian consumer, a marketer interested in trend spotting, or a shopper fascinated by luxury brands, this book opens the door to success.
Philipp Wiegandt empirically analyzes the effects the creation of a firm-established brand community has on the brand loyalty and word-of-mouth communication of its members over time. He finds that establishing a firm-established brand community creates value for both – the company and their customers.
The Harry Potter books are the bestselling books of all time. In this fascinating study, Susan Gunelius analyzes every aspect of the brand phenomenon that is Harry Potter. Delving into price wars, box office revenue, and brand values, amongst other things, this is the story of the most incredible brand success there has ever been.
Through a series of fascinating case studies of faith brands, marketing insider Mara Einstein has produced a lively account of the book in the commercialization of religion.
