Branding Project

TABLE TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents INTRODUCTION...................... INTRODUCTION......................................... ....................................... ........................................ ........................................ .......................... ...... 5 What is Cult Branding?................................... Branding?....................................................... ............................................................ ........................................ 6  The Beginnings Beginnings of a cult rand................................. rand..................................................... .................................................. .............................. ! "o#e the hate $ail.................................... $ail........................................................ ........................................ .............................................. ..........................% %  The &e#en 'olden 'olden Rules Rules of Cult Branding............ Branding................................ .................................... .............................. ................ ..11 11 (aslo)* (aslo)* The +ather +ather of Cult Branding................................... Branding................................................................. ..................................... ....... 1, Wh- the ierarch- of Needs Is a Crucial Tool Tool for Branding?.....................................1/ Branding?................................ .....1/ &o ho) does this relate to Cult Branding ?.................................... ?............................................................... ........................... 15 C0& &TUDI& O+ CU"T CU"T BR0ND&................. BR0ND&..................................... ........................................ ................................. ..................... ........ 16  The 2ol3s)agen 2ol3s)agen Beetle................... Beetle....................................... ........................................ ....................................... .................................. ............... 14 0le............................ 0le............................................... ....................................... ........................................ .................................................. ................................. ... 1% CONC"UCION............. CONC"UCION................................ ....................................... ........................................ ........................................................ .................................... 1 Biliograh-................... Biliograh-....................................... ....................................... ....................................... .................................. ............................ ................. ... 5

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 INTRODUCTION We must know that brands don't belong to marketers. Brands belong to the customer. Brands are spheres of influence, and the most magnetic brands win in the marketplace. Further then we try to discover the seven rules of cult branding. In the end the paper concludes with the discussion on world famous cult brands to uncover what actually made them attain that status. There are important learnings in this work, not only for academicians, but practitioners as well.ult Brands are a special class of magnetic brands that command super!high customer loyalty and almost evangelical customers or followers who are devoted to them. In this paper we try to unveil the  power of cult brands.

"If the business were to be spilt up, I would be glad to take the brands, trademarks and goodwill and you could have all the bricks and mortar!and I would fare better than you.# $%ohn &tuart, Former hairman of uaker (ats )td* Brand+s definition !-a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the sellers and to differentiate them from goods of competitors.owever all brands are not ult brands , even a successful brand may not be a ult Brand. This  paper attempts to investigate what is a cult Brand and how is it different different from other Brands/

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What is Cult Branding? Brands are spheres of influence, and the most magnetic brands win in the marketplace. They get repeatedly chosen over the competition, not once or twice, but week after week, year after year. ult Brands are a special class of magnetic brands that command super!high customer loyalty and almost evangelical customers or followers who are devoted to them.

0 cult brand is not something you will ever see on an Inter brand survey. Ignore the hype. oke, )evis or &ony will never be a cult brand. To be cult is by definition to be obscured. 1ou know  because you are obsessed, not because you have watched a 23 second spot on television. The great thing about cult brands is you feel like you are part of something bigger than the ob4ect itself. In almost every category of things there will be a standout secret brand that only the most devoted know about. I don't know them all. I know a couple. 1ou will almost certainly know a few yourself. 5ost Brands fail for one primary reason instead of building a brand some people love, companies build brands no one hates. 5ost marketers live in a world where they are constantly searching for the flashy, the instant6in short, the trivial. The customer's embrace is the only vote that counts, yet it is constantly ignored by strategies that  place our products and services as the "goal# rather than the means to satisfy our customer+s needs, wishes, and fantasies. &uccessful brands embrace their customers by anticipating basic and spiritual human needs. &uccess creates magnetic brands6ult Brands. 5any brands claim to be popular. 0ny toothpaste can be popular. &o can most any breakfast cereal if it's tasty enough. But here's the 7uestion Would you ever talk about toothpaste or   breakfast cereal with your friends/ 0 few special brands, it can be said, take popularity to a different level. These are theso! called cult brands arley!8avidson, &tar Trek, 9olkswagen, 0pple omputer, and several others, according to a new book, The :ower of ult Branding ow ; 5agnetic Brands Turned

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ustomers into )oyal Followers $and 1ours an, Tooame babies after your brand. This happened to the sports channel =&:>, said )ee 0nn 8aly, senior vice president of marketing for =&:> and a participant in the conference session. The three babies, born to different sets of parents in the past @!?A@ years, are named =spen, =spn, and =spn $again colleagues. -With =&:>, we could have shoved down people's throats the idea that we were an authority, but instead what we try to do is celebrate the fact that we're fans.=ven though every product doesn't have cult potential, there are many eamples of mainstream  products that have reinvented their image and achieved cult status, according to :epsio's Britchford. The 5ountain 8ew soft drink has been a cult product since its successful -Been there, done that- ad campaign targeting the youth crowd. it though it was, subse7uent campaigns for 5ountain 8ew have kept tweaking the image to maintain momentum. ush :uppies and 0bercrombie E Fitch are other mainstream brands that have turned into success stories. -Timberland was out there for many years before it achieved cult status,- said Britchford. These brands became cult brands because customers could find a sense of belonging within that product category and wear it as a badge of honor. (ne hard lesson for companies, Britchford said, is to stay one step ahead and shake things up when everyone at the organiation is feeling most coy. 0nother challenge for cult brand companies is to keep evolving in a way that doesn't alienate core followers, added 8aly. The tastes of people who watched =&:> when it began in ?;G; are different from the tastes of viewers aged twelve to nineteen who are 4ust now coming to the channel. The programming mi needs to speak to both audiences, although the ad mi does alternate its target audience by using in!4okes for one or another group of viewers. -hange is good,- said Cagas. -Bottom line! if you stay authentic to what you originally stood for and true to the core, they may give pushback but they will accept it.-

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Love the hate mail

Though no panellist complained about their customers, several did admit that cult brands inspire great passion in their followers, and that can lead marketers into a non! stop balancing act. &aid &chiller, 0pple's senior vice president for worldwide product marketing -There are strange  people out there and they seem to have a personality that has a strong affinity to attach to things like cults. 0nd you have to deal with those people because they are your customers. 1ou have to care about your customerDI get 233 e!mails a day and I have to respond to every one. &ome of  the customers are screaming and swearing and angry. -What you find is the cultAfetish customer is more passionate and therefore contacts you when he or she is most upset. &o you get a lot of angry customers who feel they have the right to fight for  their brand and Hthat it's something bigger than any one person and any one company, and they're fighting with their passionate views...1ou have to deal with their rage and accept it and be  proud of that, that the reason you're getting this hate mail with screaming and swearing is  because they love your product, they love your brand.0 cult brand can also constrict by making the press and Wall &treet analysts too eager to typecast your company, sometimes negatively. -(ne customer in tie!dye with long friy hair shows up at a meeting and they go, '0!ha< I knew you were that kind of company,- lamented &chiller. -0ccept it, and market past that,- he advised.

&mart companies regard their cult brands as an asset and never rest on their laurels, realiing that even a brand people love in its present form has got to grow and change to survive, panellists said. 0dded author Cagas, -0ll these brands help give people an identity. :eople like to be different. 0t the same time, they would like to be part of a group that acts different. ult brands hit on that fine line.6

Why do people love this brand/ Why are they so loyal to it/ What does this brand mean to them/ Why/ Why/ Why< 0n interesting thing starts happening after you've asked a lot of 7uestions for  a long enough period of time. >ot only do you start getting some really good answers, but you  begin to see patterns and similarities between the responses that you receive. This was eactly what happened in the doens of interviews conducted. lear patterns emerged. 0lthough each of  the nine brands was clearly different, their individual formulas for ult!Branding success shared many of the same core ingredients. These seven points won't tell you everything there is to know about ult Branding, but they will give you a nice overview and practical framework to utilie in your own marketing endeavours. Think of this list as your indispensable -ult Branding liff >otes.- ere they are. Cead them. Jse them<

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The even !olden Rules of Cult Branding"

1 – The Golden Rule of Social Groups

onsumers want to be part of a group that+s different. (ur society is addicted to communication. We use these devices to form and maintain distinct social groups, since as human beings we are inherently social animals. We not only en4oy being part of groups made of like! minded individuals, but we all en4oy being different and standing out from the rest of the pack .

2 – The Golden Rule of Courage Cul! Brand inventors show daring and determination. onsumers embrace ult Brands and are loyal to them because their creators pushed the limit, took significant risks, and produced new and different things. onsumers are tired of being bombarded with products and services that all look  the same, feel the same, and act the same. They want surprises. ult Brands stay with us. Bland  brands fade from memory.

" – The Golden Rule of Fun! ult Brands sell lifestyles. uman beings want to have fun. 0t their core, ult Brands are always fun. They make us happy. They cheer us up when we're downK they help us en4oy life. >ot only do they provide escape, but the companies develop and sell tools that allow followers to pursue their dreams and celebrate new lifestyles.

# – The Golden Rule of $u%an Needs )isten to the choir and create ult!Brand evangelists. ult Brands focus on serving the customers they already have. They don't try to attract hypothetical new customers. They look to

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the congregation, value their opinions, and reward them. 8o etraordinary things for them, and they'll become incredible evangelists.

& – The Golden Rule of Conri'uion ult Brands always create customer communities. ult!Brand companies continually find new ways to give back to their customers for their passion and devotion. They remain humble and  personable. They develop strong relationships through developing and supporting customer  communities.

( – The Golden Rule of Openness ult Brands are inclusive. ult!Brand companies don't build imaginary profiles of ideal customers. They don't' discriminate. They openly embrace anyone who is interested in their  company. =clusivity doesn't eist.

) – The Golden Rule of Freedo% ult Brands promote personal freedom and draw power from their enemies. uman beings cherish their freedom, and ult Brands promote this freedom and nonconformity.ult! Brand companies work hard to create memorable eperiences for their customers. They stay fresh in the minds of the faithful with brand consistency. They draw strength and unity from identifying and targeting an archenemy6a group that conflicts with the company's values and goals. These rules to me are obvious. T0L= 0C= (F 1(JC J&T(5=C< That is what all seven rules are all about.. &omehow in the age of balance sheets, C(I, and cost cutting, these are the things that are lost. The nine cult brands that were mentioned above were able to weather the storm because of customer loyalty. They kept the customers involved in decision making

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 process, kept the customers in a community, and served the brand to them to live by. This is a marketers dream. =very company should strive for a cult following from there best customers. =very company is able to do it. They 4ust have to be honest and listen to the customer. If you cater to a loyal customer not only will they become a life long customer, they will spread the cult message. It will spread like a virus. =very marketer must known to hug their customers and attempt to make a cult brand.

#aslo$% The &ather of Cult Branding Why are certain brands so important and meaningful to some customers that they feel compelled to tell the world about them/ What makes them go that etra mile/ Jnderstanding human behaviour6what motivates people to do certain things and act certain ways6is at the very core of successful marketing. This is where the work of the late, great psychologist 0braham 5aslow comes in. 5aslow postulated that we humans have an ascending order of needs and used a hierarchal pyramid to prioritie them. 0t the bottom levels of the pyramid are our physiological needs, which include basic things like food, shelter, and clothing that we all need to survive.0t progressively higher levels in 5aslow's ierarchy are the needs for safety and security, social interaction, andself!esteem. 0t the very top is self! actualiation, a term 5aslow coined to describe the ultimate human need to learn, grow, and reach one's full potential as a person. We all desire on some level to self!actualie, both to be at peace with ourselves and to try to be the best we can be. 0s humans, we are drawn to people, places, groups, causes, companies, and, ultimately, brands that we believe can help us towards our ultimate goal of self!actualiation and total fulfilment.

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Wh' the (ierarch' of Needs Is a Crucial Tool for Branding? :erhaps the most important thing to take away from 5aslow's ierarchy of uman >eeds is his theory that all human beings start fulfilling their needs at the bottom levels of the pyramid. In short, we fill our low physiological needs first. igher needs like safety, social interaction, and esteem basically do not eist at this point. )ogically, survival comes first. owever, once an individual has satisfied his or her lower level needs, the higher level needs become influential in motivating behavior. 0s 5aslow notes time and time again in his work, -5an is a perpetually wanting animal.5aslow's writings break down the underlying drivers of human behavior and decision making. 5aslow never mentions the phrase -brand loyalty- in his books, but his ierarchy of uman  >eeds and concepts like self!actualiation are key to understanding why consumers consistently choose one brand over another and en4oy such strong relationships with them. &o, why is fulfilling higher level needs so integral to building strong customer loyalty/ What's the connection, you ask/ The answer is, higher level needs influence future human behavior  much greater than lower level needs. It is the brands that can fulfill human needs on the higher  levels of the hierarchy that become irreplaceable in the mind of the consumer. That's what customer loyalty is really all about being irreplaceable. True customer loyalty is not only about getting a customer to consistently choose your brand over another. It's for that same customer to always believe $and then go tell the world* that your company's brand has no e7ual<

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&elf!actualisation =steem needs Belongingness and )ove needs &afety needs Biological and :hysiological needs

0t the bottom are physiological needs, which include basic things like food, shelter, and clothing that we all need to survive 0t progressively higher levels are the needs for safety and security, social interaction, and self  esteem. 0t the top is self !actualiationM5aslow's term for the ultimate human need to learn, grow, and reach one's full potential as a person.

o ho$ does this relate to Cult Branding ? igher level needs influence future behavior much more than lower level needs. ult Branders en4oy incredible loyalty because they work hard to connect with their customers at the very highest level of 5aslow's ierarchy. They don't 4ust offer great products and services, but they fulfill needs for social interaction, esteem, andself!actualiation. They make customers believe that your brand has no e7ual.

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C)* TUDI* O& CULT BR)ND $arle* +a,idson

To say that arley had fallen on hard times by ?;N? would be a drastic understatement. %apanese companies were destroying the company on pricing and arley!8avidson+s bikes had lost the 7uality that made them famous. The eecutives risked their corporate lives with an ON3 million buyout on a turnaround situation that looked almost impossible. But, they couldn+t afford to failK the whole company+s back was against the wall. They had to make it. The choice was simple drastically improve the 7uality of  the motorcycles and develop strong customer ties or go out of business. arley started copying %apanese production techni7ues and 7uality control, and released the new "=volution# engine in ?;N2 that put an end to oil leaks and other 7uality issues. Piven financial constraints, arley couldn+t engage in a traditional advertising campaign to win over customers. In ?;N2 =( 9aughn Beals announced the launch of the arley (wners Proup $.(.P.*, which he saw as a grassroots way to reconnect arley+s  brand and lifestyle with its most faithful customers.

8espite an initial lack of acceptance, within a few years .(.P. chapters started appearing around the country. The spread of these groups was gorilla marketing at its best membership was generated primarily from inepensive promotions at dealerships and word!of!mouth. .(.P. groups gave enthusiasts a structured way to meet, swap stories, and schedule rides with other  evangelists. arley made a wise move in re7uiring every .(.P. chapter to have a dealership sponsor. The result of this stipulation was a tighter relationship between arley dealers and the customers, as well as an increase in parts and merchandise sales. They didn+t stop with creating members groups. They started sponsoring rallies around the country. In doing so, not only did they solidify their communities, but they also used the rallies

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as a killer sales tool. They bring motorcycles to the rallies for people to tryout. This concept reaches its ape each year at Bike Week in 8aytona Beach and the &turgis Cally and Caces in &outh 8akota. ollectively, the events attract over half a million arley enthusiasts. arley takes feedback its employees receive at these events very seriously. (pinions they receive from customers affect what is produced in product lines and the way they run their rallies. This desire to appeal to the customer has been etended to the point that arley offers the option of  customiing their motorcycles. This allows arley to rack up higher!margin sales, while allowing consumers who buy a custom arley feel like they are not only 4oining the "arley nation,# but that they are also eercising their own individuality. In creating these events, and paying attention to its customers, what arley is ultimately selling through its motorcycles is the opportunity to eperience the feelings of raw freedom and empowerment that one receives from strapping on some leather and riding a bike down the open road. These are feelings common to 0mericans of all ages, races, and backgrounds.

The +ol,s$agen Beetle Today the Beetle is regarded as arguably the best!selling car of all time, but back in ?;QN it was unknown in the J.&., and many sales types believed no one would ever buy, partly because of its association with >ai Permany6being dubbed "the people+s car# by 0dolph itler6still fresh in the public+s mind. 8espite initial failures at introducing the Beetle into 0merica, 9olkswagen remained undeterred. They brought twenty Beetles to the J.&. to a private showing in >ew 1ork  ity and then to the First J.&. International Trade Fair in hicago. It wasn+t an overnight success, but it started to get attention from the press and generated word!of! mouth bu. Piven the opportunity to actually see and drive a Beetle, a significant chunk of the 0merican  public soon found themselves in love with the reliable and affordable little, Perman car. 9irtually everything about the Beetle+s design screamed it was a car like no other its air!cooled engine was mounted in the back, not the front, like every other domestic gas guler of the period, a configuration that made it more adept than anyJ.&.!made car of the time for safe driving in rain,

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sleet, and snowK it+s eterior design was uni7ue, with its egg!shaped body standing in sharp contrast to the large and sleek,chrome!covered domestic behemoths of the period. The Beetle+s appearance ooed a curious combination of personality and practicality, which 7uickly helped build strong affection for it among its owners. In addition to developing a uni7ue design $the look*, 9olkswagen focused on developing a uni7ue marketing message $the say and the feel* for the Beetle. In contrast to the advertising of  the 8etroit automakers of the ?;R3s and ?;S3s, which was full of slick copy and boastful claims, 9olkswagen+s ads for the Beetle were frank, direct, and honest. &ome of the more memorable early print ads included "Think small,# "&ome shapes are hard to improve on,# and the cult!  branding clincher, "8o you earn too much to afford one/# The combination of uni7ue design elements and honest advertising became a killer combination. By the early ?;S3s, the Beetle became a magnet for legions of 0mericans who saw themselves as  being different. 0s Bug Tales author :aul Llebahn summed up "The Beetle tended to appeal to freethinkers. This was the thinking person+s car. Instead of saying, look how much I paid for my car, it was look how much I didn+t payew Beetle in ?;;N, they made a conscious decision not to show any drivers in its ads. They wanted their funky!shaped and lovable car to be the centre of  attention, not an actor or actress. "In the >ew Beetle+s initial advertising, we never included  people in the ads because we didn+t want a person to say, (h, that+s who drives a Beetle,+# eplained &teve Leys, 8irector of orporate ommunications. "We wanted you to be able to say, I can see myself in that car.+# It was a good move everyone from teenagers buying their first car to aging baby boomers hoping to recapture their youth purchased the car. 9olkswagen benefited from not shrinking its  potential audience of buyers >o one had trouble seeing themselves behind the wheel of a >ew Beetle.

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)--le 0pple omputers is the epitome of self!empowerment and self!fulfillment combined in one  brand. ow else to describe a ult Brand whose original slogan for the 5acintosh was, "the computer for the rest of us#/ (f course, "the rest of us# were those brave individuals who wanted to control their own destinies and break free of the system+s controlling grip and authoritarian ways. In the eighties, 0pple painted this dark controlling force as being IB5, while in the nineties it became 5icrosoft and Bill Pates. 0s hristopher =scher, former 9: of orporation ommunications, noted "They turned computers, which are essentially a product for business  people to crunch numbers with, into symbols of self!realiation and liberation against social constraints.# In the mid!nineties, things were looking pretty grim for 0pple. The company was steadily losing money, it lacked strong leadership at the top, and the firm+s overall share of the : market was continuing to slip. While 0pple continued to have millions of loyal customers around the world, it endured this period thinking that any day a large competitor would buy it out, or that it would fail outright. Then, after more than a decade away from 0pple, &teve %obs came back as interim

=( in ?;;G. %obs, through a savvy combination of internal cost!cutting, revamped marketing, and new product launches, turned 0pple around. In @33?, 0pple announced the launch of the sleekly designed i:od. While not the first digital music player, the market lacked 7uality and was absent of any standout devices. 0pple focused on the small sie of the device, ease of use, and the sleek design, and transformed it into the digital music player by which all others are now measured. 0fter the launch of iTunes, the digital download service, in 0pril @332, 0pple started its now famous ad campaign with silhouetted figures rocking out to tunes. These ads in4ected a human element into a market that focused 16

solely on the boring technological aspects of the devices. 0pple realied that people don+t 4ust want to carry music, they want to 4am out to songs that reflect their personalities. This attention to what customers want6form, ease of use, and individuality6has paid off more than anyone could have ever guessed. To date, 0pple has sold over Q@ million i:ods, and passed over ? billion downloads on iTunes. In the first fiscal 7uarter of @33S, 0pple reported sales of  over ?Q million i:ods, leading them to ORSR million in revenue, the highest in the company+s history. 0pple doesn+t 4ust build products, they build products that their faithful want. 0nd, they have a variety of interesting ways of preaching and listening to the choir. For starters, 0pple hosts a Jser Proup Jniversity at 5acworld epo where leaders from 5ac JserProups6  those essentially independent clubs started by 0pple aficionados6meet with each other for a full day of workshops and conversations about 0pple+s latest products. 0pple showers all attendees with free logo merchandise, as well as employee discounts at the company store. >ot only does 0pple come away with invaluable feedback from a great group of customers, but it reenergies the key faithful. 0pple also asks individuals who run successful 5ac Jser Proups in their  communities to participate and to help 0pple work with less successful user groups in the region. They continually gather feedback for 0pple and look for 5ac success stories to share. By following this game plan, 0pple is able to give its customers the product enhancements they really want instead of guessing what the whims of the customers might be.

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CONCLUCION The Bug hit the roads with a vroom in the year ?;2N, when it went into mass production. Cacing through difficult terrains, 9olkswagen Beetle aka The Bug, outpaced enry Ford+s T!model as the world+s best selling automobile in ?;N?. While many sporty sprites slip out of the fast lane into the deserted streets of oblivion, The Bug still is the passion of millions. There are hundreds of active fan clubs, dedicated to restoring and driving old Bugs, and promoting interaction among proud owners. Callies and meets of classic Beetles still cast a magic spell on thousands of obsessed Beetlers+. In fact, 9W had stopped importing the Bug into the J& market since ?;GG. What fascinates marketers and business pundits about the Beetle is how it managed to stay at the top of 5aslow+s ierarchy of >eeds for five decades. The mysti7ue charm of the Bug and the emotional connection it makes with its owners made the company relaunch the car in ?;;;. Its  passion like this that makes it a ult Brand. ustomer loyalty Cobust markets have seen companies suffer from the Cevolving 8oor &yndrome+. This means that companies eperience high customer attrition rates and face low customer loyalty. This syndrome has left business pundits and academicians pondering about Why do some brands en4oy deep customer loyalty and become cult brands+, while some remain mere brands, and yet others slip into oblivion/ The answer to this 7uestion lies in understanding the 8>0 of ult brands realised 5atthew W Cagas M co!author of the best selling book The :ower of ult Branding. e decided to scrutinise cult brands+ and break down their success formula into actionable points. 8efining a cult brand

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Cagas defines a cult brand as those that make a deep impact and establish an emotional connection with the customer. They have the power to convert their customers into brand evangelists. What gives brands their cult status is that customers become passionate ! almost obsessive about them ! something that is absent among brands with mass appeal+. 5ore importantly, followers of cult brands see no viable alternative for them in the market. uite like the arley!8avidson< 0wesome >ine Cagas and his co!author B% Bueno identified nine such brands that perfectly fit the definition of  cult brands. They are &tar TrekK 9olkswagen Beetle, (prah Winfrey, %immy Buffet, )inu, 0pple, WW= $World Wrestling =ntertainment*, arley!8avidson,and 9ans shoes. These are the brands that en4oy the most fanatical and loyal customer followingK and consistently connect with their customers at the very highest levels of 5aslow+s ierarchy of >eeds. Interestingly, all these brands began their 4ourney on a shoestring budget. Brand awareness M half the battle won 5ore often than not, marketers assume that spending staggering amounts to build brand awareness assures their products a cult brand status. Ironically, building brand awareness is only half the solution. ompanies like oke, :epsi, 5icrosoft, Walt 8isney and 5c8onald+s might have the largest marketing budgets, yet they are miles away from being cult brands< The reason onsumers might en4oy having a oke or eating a burger, but they aren+t always fervent about it. Besides, none of these brands can brag of strong customer relationships that score high on 5aslow+s ierarchy of >eeds. ult brands 9s Benign cults Business pundits draw a comparison between cult brands and benign cults. Benign cults are candid in their mission and goals. 0ccording to Cick Coss, renowned thought!reformspecialist,  benign cults are harmless and fulfill the emotional wants and desires of their followers in a  positive and meaningful manner. Benign cults and their followers cherish a mutually beneficial

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relationship, with both receiving immense satisfaction. I&L(> is a case in point. ult brands develop a similar rapport with their customers. &urrogate family ult brands leave a legacy. By nature, human beings resist change. When caught in a rapidly changing environment, they seek refuge in places and people they are comfortable with. ult  brands offer the protection that consumers look for M in terms of values, belief systems, and ideas. To sum it up succinctly, these brands play the role of a surrogate family+ for consumers in a 4ittery market. For the brand, this evocation translates into a  passionate customer base. &uccess commandments Why is it that customers are mesmerised by the power of cult brands and speak about them like a  person seated net to them/ Why do the relationships of cult brands still retain their magic/ Why is it that these brands still en4oy peak emotional connectivity/ It+s the traits of cult brands that hold sway. ere are the traits that can give companies a commanding lead in their marketing endeavours 0ll!encompassing =clusivity+, niche+, and target marketing+ are buwords in markets today. In stark contrast, cult brand companies scoff at their very mention. They en4oy the patronage of a diverse customer base cutting across the barriers of age, race, gender, and background. The (prah Winfrey show has established an emotional bond with diversified customer!segments by engaging in a tUte!V!tUte with them. ompanies will have to be open and inclusive, irrespective of its line of business. They will have to ponder over 7uestions like What are consumer needs/ Which of these needs can the brand fulfil/ )isten to the choir )isten to thy customers and act on their advice. 0ll these nine cult brands have a strong sharing+ and collaborative+ component attached to them. Thanks to the strong  belief in these two components, brands like )inu and 0pple en4oy the fiery passion and loyalty

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of consumers. The open source development process on which )inu built its operating system is a classic eample of openness. ompanies often undermine the role of their employees in generating an open environment. They should encourage them to speak their mind. arley!8avidson+semployeesare encouraged to mi and mingle with customers. Tout openness and inclusiveness 0dvertising helps companies to send their message of openness and inclusiveness. owever, a backlash is inevitable if the message differs from how the product or service walks, talks, and acts+ in reality. (prah Winfrey+s smiling photograph on the cover page of its (+ magaine is a case in point. It touts (prah Winfrey as a warm, friendly, and approachable personality. The ad carries the very essence of (prah Winfrey+s shows. The 4ob of the marketer doesn+t end by earning his brand a cult status+. The net destination is to make it irreplaceable, incomparable, and timeless. &omething that iconic brands gained<

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Bibliogra-h' ?. www.google.com @. www.managmentparadise.com 2. www.wikipedia.com Q. www.kalyani.com R. www.scrbid.com S. www.acdmeu.com

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