At first glance, companies like Apple and Nike have little in common with organizations like the Hells 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 arent emotionally unstabletheyre 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 & Jerrys make their customers feel unique, important, and part of an exclusive groupand 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.

But the simple fact is, this book had to be written. Let's face it, the "innocent" activities that take place in the world of branding are not so different from those of religious sects.
Just like cults, brand tribes offer their members a greater sense of purpose. They both have initiation processes, rites of passage and devotion to a single ideal (or brand). Individuals can earn higher status in these groups by investing their time and energy in learning the customs, codes and rituals. They're rewarded for their efforts by attaining increasing levels of insider status. Eventually, both cult and brand tribe fanatics become apostles, spreading the message to others.

And in contrast to other, more superficial authors (e.g. Ragas' and Bueno's light-weight 'Power of Cult Branding'), Doug Atkin takes us into a deep, well researched, and culturally aware analogy between religious sects and powerful brands.

Douglas has quite some brain, and he takes us on a roller-coaster ride of mass-seduction. The Culting of Brands is an important book, one I will surely reference over and over.


A cheap copy...   May 21, 2005
 6 out of 15 found this review helpful

I will go straight to the point: This book came out a long time after The Power of Cult Branding, by M. Ragas and B. J. Bueno, in my opinion is just a cheap copy. I read it and it is just a shame to do something like that.