Have you ever wondered why some brands seem to capture the hearts and minds of their customers? Think about it. When it comes to Starbucks or Apple, for example, these companies have created such powerful experiences that customers come back repeatedly. I'm a living testament to this. I love spending time in my neighborhood Starbucks in Boston, not just for the coffee but for how well the Baristas know me. Don't get me started with Apple. I'm a certified Apple fanboy, and those that love me can attest that I have every Apple product in my home! You probably have brands that you love as well! Doesn't it make you wonder what makes these brands occupy a special place in your heart?

These brands have gone beyond delivering functional benefits - they have become practically cult-like phenomena. But how do they do it? And what can we learn from them?

In my over 20 years of advertising and marketing experience, I've discovered a trend separating an ordinary brand from a legendary one. These brands behave like religions. I want to share five key tactics legendary brands use to behave like religions and impact their customers.

The Power of Mythology
- Legendary brands are often rooted in powerful mythologies that go beyond simply selling products or services. For example, Starbucks is not just about providing good coffee - its underlying mythology is “romance for the coffee drinker”. From its signature coffee cups to its cozy seating arrangements, Starbucks strives to create an environment of comfort and connection that allows people from all walks of life to meet up with friends or enjoy some alone time in a safe space. Similarly, Apple does not just sell technology - it sells a lifestyle of creativity and innovation for those who want to “think differently” and break away from the norm. This mythology came from the brilliant mind of Steve Jobs and has guided Apple even up to today.
Codifying Values
- The best legendary brands strive to make their values accurate in every aspect of the customer experience. Take Apple again, for example - Visiting an Apple Store is a unique experience. From the moment you walk in, you are greeted by friendly and knowledgeable staff members passionate about helping customers find the perfect product for their needs. The store is organized according to product type with "altars" designed to glorify their products and showcase how they can help their customers live their best lives.
Engaging Brand Rituals
- Legendary brands create memorable customer experiences that become rituals in themselves – buying a Starbucks latte every day or visiting an Apple Store which looks more like a temple than a retail outlet! Even little things like personalizing your coffee cup can help create strong customer engagement over time – something that other, less successful brands struggle with. These little rituals don't happen by accident. These brands deliberately design these experiences and train their staff to deliver it uniformly so that every customer feels the comfort of familiarity.
Active Evangelization
- Legendary brands actively evangelize their customers, encouraging them to spread the word about their brand far and wide! They do this through social media campaigns or even simple word-of-mouth marketing, all the way, to providing customers with an impeccable customer experience – but whatever the method, legendary brands understand how important it is to get existing customers talking about them online to attract new ones too! They make their loyal customers their number one marketers by converting them into true believers of their brands through their communications and, most importantly, through their actions.
Creating a Community
- Finally, one of the most essential things legendary brands do is create caring communities around them that help foster loyalty among existing customers while attracting new ones too! Through events such as meetups or customer surveys/feedback sessions, these communities allow people who share similar interests or values to come together and discuss topics related to the brand – creating strong bonds between members that would otherwise not exist if not for the brand itself!

As you can see from the above examples, there are many lessons we can learn from religions that we can apply to our marketing. How can we make our brands into legendary religions that engage, evangelize and create communities around them? It starts with creating powerful brand experiences that customers will remember long after interacting with our brands. By understanding how these companies codify their values, engage in rituals, actively evangelize their customers and form supportive communities around them – businesses everywhere can apply these same tactics within their operations to better engage with potential customers too! Ultimately though – no matter what strategy you decide upon – always remember that customer experience should be at the heart of everything you do if you want your business to become legendary too!

Are you interested in transforming your company into a legendary brand using the power of the Brand Religion Methodology? If so, book a free Brand Blueprint session from Tagline 360. This is a friendly session where our team of experienced brand evangelists will sit down with you to help craft your brand mythology and suggest unique customer service experiences that can help turn your company into a legendary brand.