The Power of Cult Branding

The Power of Cult Branding
Author: Matthew W. Ragas
Publisher: Crown Currency
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2011-02-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0307781526

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.

The Culting of Brands

The Culting of Brands
Author: Douglas Atkin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2004
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

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.

The Phenomenon of Cult Brands

The Phenomenon of Cult Brands
Author: Dimitri Wittwer
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2014-10-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3735795145

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.

Scarred

Scarred
Author: Sarah Edmondson
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2019-09-17
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1797201468

As seen in the HBO docuseries THE VOW: The shocking and subversive memoir of a 12-year-NXIVM-member-turned-whistleblower, and her inspiring true story of abuse, escape, and redemption. "'Master, would you brand me? It would be an honor.' From the second I climb onto the table, acutely aware that I am lying in the sweat of my sisters, I will have blocked that out. Lying there completely naked, I am at my most vulnerable but determined to prove my strength. I try to keep my legs closed as my body wills itself to protect my most private area. . . . I tell myself: I am a warrior. I birthed a human. I can handle pain. But nothing could have ever prepared me for the feel of this fire on my skin." Scarred is Sarah Edmondson's compelling memoir of her recruitment into the NXIVM cult, the 12 years she spent within the organization (during which she enrolled over 2,000 members and entered DOS—NXIVM's "secret sisterhood"), her breaking point, and her harrowing fight to get out, to expose Keith Raniere and the leadership, to help others, and to heal. Complete with personal photographs, Scarred is also an eye-opening story about abuses of power, female trust and friendship, and how sometimes the search to be "better" can override everything else. • In the tradition of Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman, Escape by Carolyn Jessop, and Troublemaker by Leah Remini • This tell-all follows Sarah from the moment she takes her first NXIVM seminar, to the invitation she accepts from her best friend, Lauren Salzman, into DOS, to her journey toward become a key witness in the federal case against its founders • Evokes questions about friendship, ethics, good and evil, making it a brilliant selection for book clubs Audio edition read by the author.

What Great Brands Do

What Great Brands Do
Author: Denise Lee Yohn
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2014-01-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 111861125X

Discover proven strategies for building powerful, world-class brands It's tempting to believe that brands like Apple, Nike, and Zappos achieved their iconic statuses because of serendipity, an unattainable magic formula, or even the genius of a single visionary leader. However, these companies all adopted specific approaches and principles that transformed their ordinary brands into industry leaders. In other words, great brands can be built—and Denise Lee Yohn knows exactly how to do it. Delivering a fresh perspective, Yohn's What Great Brands Do teaches an innovative brand-as-business strategy that enhances brand identity while boosting profit margins, improving company culture, and creating stronger stakeholder relationships. Drawing from twenty-five years of consulting work with such top brands as Frito-Lay, Sony, Nautica, and Burger King, Yohn explains key principles of her brand-as-business strategy. Reveals the seven key principles that the world's best brands consistently implement Presents case studies that explore the brand building successes and failures of companies of all sizes including IBM, Lululemon, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and other remarkable brands Provides tools and strategies that organizations can start using right away Filled with targeted guidance for CEOs, COOs, entrepreneurs, and other organization leaders, What Great Brands Do is an essential blueprint for launching any brand to meteoric heights.

Don't Call it a Cult

Don't Call it a Cult
Author: Sarah Berman
Publisher: Steerforth
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2021-04-20
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1586422766

They draw you in with the promise of empowerment, self-discovery, women helping women. The more secretive those connections are, the more exclusive you feel. Little did you know, you just joined a cult. Sex trafficking. Self-help coaching. Forced labor. Mentorship. Multi-level marketing. Gaslighting. Investigative journalist Sarah Berman explores the shocking practices of NXIVM, a cult run by Keith Raniere and many enablers. Through the accounts of central NXIVM figures, Berman uncovers how dozens of women seeking creative coaching and networking opportunities instead were blackmailed, literally branded, near-starved, and enslaved. Don't Call It a Cult is a riveting account of NXIVM's rise to power, its ability to evade prosecution for decades, and the investigation that finally revealed its dark secrets to the world.

Cult of the Luxury Brand

Cult of the Luxury Brand
Author: Radha Chadha
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey International
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2010-12-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1904838294

The first book to explore how and why an amazing "luxeplosion" is rocking Asia.

Fanocracy

Fanocracy
Author: David Meerman Scott
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2020-01-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0593084012

A Wall Street Journal bestseller From the author of New Rules of Marketing & PR, a bold guide to converting customer passion into marketing power. How do some brands attract word-of-mouth buzz and radical devotion around products as everyday as car insurance, b2b software, and underwear? They embody the most powerful marketing force in the world: die-hard fans. In this essential book, leading business growth strategist David Meerman Scott and fandom expert Reiko Scott explore the neuroscience of fandom and interview young entrepreneurs, veteran business owners, startup founders, nonprofits, and companies big and small to pinpoint which practices separate organizations that flourish from those stuck in stagnation. They lay out a road map for converting customers’ ardor into buying power, pulling one-of-a-kind examples from a wide range of organizations, including: · MeUndies, the subscription company that’s revolutionizing underwear · HeadCount, the nonprofit that registers voters at music concerts · Grain Surfboards, the board-building studio that willingly reveals its trade secrets with customers · Hagerty, the classic-car insurance provider with over 600,000 premier club members · HubSpot, the software company that draws 25,000 attendees to its annual conference For anyone who seeks to harness the force of fandom to revolutionize his or her business, Fanocracy shows the way.

Rituals and Power

Rituals and Power
Author: S. R. F. Price
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1984
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521312684

Simon Price attempts to discover why the Roman Emperor was treated like a god.

Going Social

Going Social
Author: Jeremy Goldman
Publisher: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0814432557

Powerful lessons from the frontlines of social media marketing.