Book Description
A fresh and original look
at the phenomenon of "cult branding" -- how companies cultivate
fanatical customer loyalty.
At first glance, companies like Apple and Nike have little in
common with organizations like the Hell’s Angels and the
Unification Church. But in reality, they all fulfill the main
definition of a cult: They attract people who see themselves as
different from the masses in some fundamental way. Contrary to
stereotypes, most cult members aren’t emotionally unstable—they’re
just normal folks searching for a sense of belonging.
Marketing expert Douglas Atkin has spent years researching both
full-blown cults and companies that use cult-branding techniques.
He interviewed countless cult members to find out what makes them
tick. And he explains exactly how brands like Harley- Davidson,
Saturn, JetBlue, and Ben Jerry’s 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 phenomenom, The Culting of
Brands will be of enormous value to business leaders. It will teach
marketers how to align themselves with a specific segment of the
population, how to attract and keep new “members,” how to establish
a mythology about the company, and how to manage a workforce filled
with true believers.
Once a brand achieves cult status, it becomes almost impossible for
a competitor to dethrone it. The Culting of Brands will reveal the
secrets of fierce customer identification and, most important,
unbreakable loyalty.
From Publishers Weekly
Atkin, a strategy director for a New York ad agency, believes the
process through which consumer brands build customer loyalty is
equivalent to the way religious cults recruit members—and, he says,
that''s a good thing. To him, cults are little more than
well-defined affinity groups engaging in a few activities outsiders
find unusual because they believe something different. Yet his
superficial consideration of groups like the Unification Church and
the Landmark Forum rarely gets into the specifics of those belief
systems, instead presenting a fuzzy image of people bonding
together to give their lives meaning. Obvious negative examples,
like Waco and Jonestown, are cursorily dismissed as badly managed.
Atkin then takes this broad definition and applies it to the
commercial realm, making a reasonable case that Harley riders and
Apple users, among others, follow similar behavioral patterns. But
he overuses the term "cult" to the point of meaninglessness: it''s
one thing to compare Marine Corps training to an initiatory ritual,
quite another to label eBay or JetBlue customers cult members just
because they use the product repeatedly. While little argument can
be raised against Atkin''s proposition that "few stronger emotions
exist than the need to belong and make meaning," more conservative
readers may balk at his notion that the decreasing power of our
culture''s traditional institutions is an opportunity to exploit
those emotional drives for profit. Perhaps would-be cult leaders
will be able to use Atkin''s marketing strategies to repackage
themselves for broader mainstream appeal.
From Booklist
Atkin, an advertising executive, examines the techniques to develop
extreme buyer loyalty and discusses cults and cult-brand members''
motivations, desires, and attitudes. The elements common to brand
definition used by companies such as Harley Davidson and Saturn
and to cult definition are ideas of community and belonging,
ideology, devotion, and advocacy. Atkin researched many cults,
including established religions, fan clubs, current and ex-marines,
AA, and numerous CEOs of cult-brand companies and cult leaders.
With the growth of sophisticated consumerism and the reality that
institutions are increasingly inadequate sources of meaning and
community, Atkin believes that alternative religion and brands that
offer these benefits will flourish. His advice for establishing a
cult brand includes understanding that people "buy" people and not
things and ideas alone and investing at least as much into
developing a cult brand as your members do in emotional and
financial commitment, energy, and creativity. This is an insightful
and challenging perspective on marketing for everyone, even those
who may not agree with the author.
Mary Whaley
Book Dimension
length: cm21.3 width:cm14
關於作者：
Douglas Atkin is the director of strategy at one of New York’s
hottest advertising agencies, Merkley Newman Harty. He has worked
with numerous clients to increase their cult appeal, including
Mercedes, Pfizer, Smith Barney, Fila, and JetBlue. This is his
first book.
目錄：
Introduction
1. THE GREAT CULT PARADOX: WHY PEOPLE JOIN
2. YOU''RE DIFFERENT, WE''RE DIFFERENT
3. WE LOVE YOU
4. YOU BELONG
5. CULTING IS A CONTACT SPORT
6. WE''RE IN THIS TOGETHER
7.THIS IS WHAT WE BELIEVE
8. SYMBOLISM
9. COMMITMENT IS A TWO-WAY STREET
10: GO FORTH AND MULTIPLY
11. TENSION: THE MANAGEMENT OF DEVIANCE
12. A CULT IS BORN
13. THE CULT WAVERSI A CHURCH STRENGTHENS
14. WHO RUNS THE CULT?
CONCLUSION
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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