Cult Branding Presentation

8/8/2019 Cult Branding Presentation

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©Wallace Creative, LLC.







Emotional Branding, Cult Marketing

and Public Radio

How do cults generate famously intense devotion?

How do cult brands (Apple, Harley-Davidson, etc.)create strong commitment?

Are the techniques transferable between the two?

What does this have to do with Public Radio?





and Public Radio

Some definitions…




Emotional Branding, Cult

Marketing and Public Radio

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINA'S NEW RELIGIOUSMOVEMENT WEBSITE:

CHURCH: a conventional religious organization

SECT: a deviant religious organization with traditionalbeliefs and practices.

CULT: a deviant religious organization with novel beliefsand practices.






AMERICAN FAMILY FOUNDATION definitionof cult:

A group or movement exhibiting a great or excessivedevotion or dedication to some person, idea or thing,and employing unethically manipulative techniques

of persuasion and control designed to advance thegoals of the group's leaders, to the actual orpossible detriment of members, their families or thecommunity.






Douglas Atkins’ definition of “cult brand”:

A brand for which a group of customers exhibita great devotion or dedication. Its ideology isdistinctive and it has a well-defined andcommitted community. It enjoys exclusivedevotion (that is, not shared with anotherbrand in the same category) and its membersoften become voluntary advocates.





and Public Radio

Why should Public Radio care?

The worlds of the sacred and profane arecoming closer together.





and Public Radio

Churches building shopping malls.

“Mega Churches” using traditional marketingtechniques.

Shouts of “Amen!” during one of Steve Jobs’speeches at a Mac World convention.

Saturn’s tent-meetings for 45,000 loyalcustomers.





and Public Radio

Why should Public Radio care?

People have urges to belong, make meaning, feel

secure, have order within chaos and create identity.

Brands are providing more opportunities for

“self-actualization”.

Brands that engender trust, create a feeling ofcommunity, and support personal growth are in a

good position to deepen relationships.






Cult branding = Techniques used to

generate devotion. Motivations,

desires and attitudes of customers

are key.






The paradox of cults is that people

don't join to belong; they join to be more individual . Be more yourself .






Atkins’ 4 Basic Steps of the Cult Paradox:

• A person must feel different, alienated from theoutside world.

• This leads to an openness to or searching for amore compatible environment.

• They are likely to feel a sense of security or

safety in a place where being different is a goodthing; trust is established.

• This presents opportunities for self-actualization;“I can be more like me”.






Hmmmmm…




Emotional Branding, CultMarketing and Public Radio

Station X’s goal was to come upwith fresh messages for their

pledge drive.We decided to see if cult brandingprinciples could offer some newinsights into why people might

contribute to Station X.




Emotional Branding, CultMarketing and Public Radio

Station X Members invited via email

to take online survey.

Asked to rank, from 1-10,

statements about supporting

station based on “level of

importance”.






12 statements in survey related to cult

branding.

For comparison, 5 additionalstatements were included that related

to “traditional” reasons for supporting

the station.

293 responses (accuracy: 90% +/- 5%).






Traditional statements tested…

“I am a Station X member to help sustain and improve theservice that the radio station provides.”

“I am a Station X member to pay for past listening.”I have come to rely on Station X.

“I feel a personal connection with Station X.”

“I could afford to make a contribution.”






Here’s what we found…

Average 1-10 ranking for both groups of messages

was consistent (6.03 to 9.05 for cult branding vs.

6.06 to 9.00 for traditional).

7 of 12 cult branding reasons ranked 8+, while 2 of 5

traditional reasons ranked 8+.

Median: Cult branding was 8.31, traditional was

7.35.






Here’s what we did with this information…

Chose the “reason for giving” statements that

ranked same or higher as median for Cult Brandingstatements (8.31).

Created case messages from these statements.

Turned these messages into pitch scripts.






Here’s what happened…

Saw an 8% increase in dollars/day.






Is Station X a Cult Brand? We can’t say yet. We only asked members about how they feel about Station

X, not how they may see themselves as different.

Among Station X Members, cult brand-relatedreasons for supporting the station ranked as high or

higher than traditional reasons for supporting the

station.

We have a new framework for generating marketing

and fundraising messages.






Questions?

Contact Mike Wallace

(619) 723-1900

[email protected]

www.wallacecreative.com

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Cult Branding Presentation

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