Rethinking Cult Brands
By FerebeeLane
Introducing the Concept of ‘Culture Brands’
What CMO doesn’t at one point or another dream of being at the helm of a cult brand? It seems like such an ideal end-game for all sorts of ambitious marketing efforts and niche positioning: a beyond-loyal base of brand fans who are devoted to your specific product or service or destination. A community of people who feel personally connected to the soul and spirit of a brand and all those who love it. Their passion is palpable. Their devotion is real. Their marketplace activity is reliable. They love your brand. They love how it makes them look. They love how it makes them feel. But these ‘cults’ of consumers are, by their nature, relatively small groups — at least when compared to the larger marketplace.
This sense of intimacy is in fact a key ingredient in the boot-strappy origin story of niche and cult brands. And therein lies the problem: the uncontrived origins, modest scale and deep sense of personal connections that make cult brands so appealing to consumers—so vital for their small tribe of in-the-know aficionados—are exactly what can make the achievement of cult brand status such a tricky win for marketers. As a model, cult brands are the David to the commoditized world’s Goliath. Scrappy. Different. And yes, for better or worse, typically small. The difficulty for most brands who lean into their unique position in order to narrow their focus and earn this elusive, authentic status is determining what to do next. For many, cult status becomes a bit of a gilded cage. The narrow band of consumers who validated the brand’s unique point of view, who felt such a deep sense of ownership about it, often expect them to stay the same. To stay the course. But not just with regard to consistency or quality or character; they often actually want the brand to stay small, to be known and loved only by an exclusive, first-moving few. To be a ‘best kept secret.’ Worse still, assumptions about not rocking the beloved boat and maintaining the status quo can paralyze those responsible for bringing the brand to life and keeping it fresh with innovation and inspiring engagement. That of course poses some fundamental challenges for marketers who are charged with scaling up brands and cultivating new audiences, and for the internal teams who are responsible for activating the brand in real, relevant ways day after day.
Although the ‘best kept secret’ buzz may feel like flattery at first—and certainly functions to distinguish a brand from the clutter of commodities around it—it’s ultimately a narrow, limiting trap. Any brand that’s truly an exclusive secret cannot reach its full potential. So what’s a marketer to do? Does a decision have to be made between gratifying but small, cult-like success versus high-volume appeal? Between grassroots soul and big-time, commoditized scale? Maybe not. There’s a different way of looking at fan-fueled brands that doesn’t make personal engagement with consumers seem so incompatible with growth and broad success. A way that makes the cult brand ideal marketers and their agencies have chased for so long seem more than a little limiting. That framework focuses on culture instead of cult-like status. Instead of relying on a fundamental fear of missing out or being excluded, culture brands are fueled by something even more remarkable: an evolving, growing community of fans whose power comes from shared passion instead of first-mover status and exclusion of others. As evidenced by ever-evolving brands like Yeti and Tesla—who both shed the shackles of narrow, cult-like status in ways that broadened their offering and delighted their audiences— culture branding is a true win-win for both marketers and consumers.