The Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding

Harley Davidson, Volkswagen Beetle, Star Trek, Apple Computers evokes passion in their customers and command loyalty. They are called a cult brand. The cult brand stood the test of time, which includes adverse market conditions, merely through the support of loyal customers.

Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno in his book, The Power of Cult Branding goes into depth to distinguish between harmful and benign cults. The authors outlines The Seven Golden Rules of Cult Branding which postulates the basic rules that cult brands consciously follow to build and sustain their status in the minds of their followers:

Rule 1. The Rule of Social Groups: Cult brands give people the opportunity to become part of social groups – groups of like-minded people who prefer being different Just like HOG.

Rule 2. The Rule of Courage: Creators of cult brands tend to be fighters and winners. It helps brand knock people’s general attitude and liking to be associated with winners. The owners of the cult brand portray an attitude of brazen courage and adventure.

Rule 3. The Rule of Fun: nothing can match the taste of freedom and independence. Cult brands offer their customers an opportunity to pursue and satisfy their innate passions, thus taking their minds away from the serious responsibilities of life.

Rule 4. The Rule of Human Needs: Cult brand focus on the needs of their existing customers and give regard to their feedback, rather than expending energy to win new customers. Cult brand work on enriching the customer experience and treat the customers as King. The cult brand offers every person wants to be heard and feels happy when their opinion is valued.

Rule 5. The Rule of Contribution: Cult brands believe in giving back to their customers the profits they generate to develop and support customer communities, thus forging lifetime relations with them.

Rule 6. The Rule of Openness: Cult brands are open to one and all i.e., they are indifferent to caste, creed, socio-economic backgrounds of customers, etc. they do not discriminate among customers. They fulfill the human desire of caring, sharing, bearing and belonging.

Rule 7. The Rule of Freedom: Cult brands promote the underlying themes of freedom and non-conformity with memorable sensory experiences.

Through meticulous research and scores of interviews Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno have uncovered the remarkable and untold stories behind nine very successful cult brands. The nine brands are Star Trek, Harley-Davidson, Oprah Winfrey, World Wrestling Entertainment, Apple, Volkswagen Beetle, Jimmy Buffett, Vans Shoes, and Linux.