We’ve all thought it. Mac is a cult as much as it is a brand, right?
When my last Macbook was fried beyond any hope of resurrection, I was outwardly disgruntled at the thought of what a new laptop was going to do to my budget, but inwardly I was giddy at the prospect of a new Mac product.
The store, the box, the product itself inspire something akin to reverence in me. When I got my new Mac home, and opened the box, I was on the phone with my local Mac store owner.
“Oh my God, they get everything right don’t they? It’s like opening a jewelry box from Tiffany’s”, I gushed.
“I know”, he said, “orgasmic, right?”
I half expected to hear the sweet voices of a choir rising up out of the box as I lifted the immaculate aluminum machine from the simple, and austere black interior of the box.
BRAND AS RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
According to Martin Lindstrom’s research for his book Buyology, I’m not alone. I was having a religious experience. With a hunk of metal and circuitry.
In fact, to our brains, the Apple brand is nearly identical to a religious figure or icon. In a study Lindstrom conducted with neuroscientist, Dr. Calvert, involving 65 subjects, and a series of images, there was practically no discernible difference in brain activity between strong brands, such as Apple, and religious images. Weaker brands, in contrast, showed activity in entirely different regions of the brain, while the strong brands, the “cult” brands, produced increased activity in areas of the brain associated with memory, decision-making, emotion, and religious experience.
What is it about Apple, or other strong iconic brands such as Harley Davidson, Coca-Cola, or Ferrari, that triggers a religious experience?
Lindstrom determined 10 common pillars that all major religions share. No one has confirmed that the below experiences are what correlates to a “religious” brain response, but what the heck, let’s see how Apple squares up:
1. Sense of Belonging – In the video documentary, Macheads, longtime Mac fanatics talk about their early adoption of Mac as a social movement. They talk about belonging, and needing to band together to share information.
2. A Clear Vision – Steve Job’s original vision for Apple: “Man is the creator of change in this world, as such he should not be above systems and structures, and not subordinate to them.”
3. Power over Enemies – Apple’s ads pitted the Apple user against the PC user, and Microsoft has been scrambling to win back power ever since.
4. Sensory Appeal – Apple transformed the personal computer, and subsequent products, from ugly utilitarian products, to sleek-lined, elegant, and aesthetically appealing, functioning works of art. The stores are clean and light, with high ceilings. User interfaces are attractive and user-friendly. Even the packaging smacks of elegance and luxury.
5. Storytelling – Watching Steve Jobs unveil a new product is very much like watching a master storyteller.
6. Grandeur – From Apple stores to conventions, Apple is all about grandeur.
7. Evangelism – Go ahead. I dare you. Just ask a Mac user about their new Iphone, or their new Macbook, and watch evangelism at its finest.
8. Symbols – From the logo, to desktop icons, Apple has nailed symbols.
9. Mystery – Probably one of Apple’s finest marketing techniques is the sense of mystery created around their new products. By the time a new Apple product actually hits the market, the whole world has already guessed, and speculated, and spread rumors about the product. Mind you, Apple never confirms, or denies, the rumors. I always imagine Steve Jobs (His Holiness?) sitting back and chuckling as he watches the world market his products for him, before they are ever even announced.
10. Rituals – Product releases and conventions bring Mac followers out in droves to be part of the rituals of Apple.
GIVING YOUR BRAND A RELIGIOUS UPGRADE
So how can businesses elevate their brand to religious status, how can they spark the right neuronal pattern in their customers’ brains? That’s what we’ll be talking about at the next #nmchat on Twitter this Thursday at 6PM Eastern time (*update 3/3/11: #nmchat no longer runs on Thursdays). If you would like to join in, follow me on Twitter and give me a shout out for more information.
For now, I leave you with this interview between Martin Lindstrom, author of Buyology, and Kobi Shely, the director of MacHEADS.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF74RYVOmOo
March 3, 2011 UPDATE: While Buyology was a fun read a year ago, and one of the first on the scene about neuromarketing, I don’t recommend it. I keep meaning to get a reading list together, but if you’re looking for some better books start with How We Decide
Really good writing and interesting angles here – I think you’ve found your niche!
“1. Sense of Belonging — In the video documentary, Macheads, longtime Mac fanatics talk about their early adoption of Mac as a social movement. They talk about belonging, and needing to band together to share information.”
I think this is a big part of the success of Apple as a brand, along with what Kathy Sierra called ‘The Nod’
http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/07/how_your_produc.html
I think that’s a big key to the success among Apple evangelists. They not only feel part of a special group, but a special group that’s hipper and cooler than everyone else.
It’s the ‘We get it’ mentality.
Great post!
I am a confirmed Mac lover, and can identify with the idea of opening-up-new-Mac-as-a-Religious-Experience. I hope marketers realize that you can’t simply market yourself (and your brand) to cult status… branding is about promises delivered upon, time after time. Apple makes the right promises (appealing to all those things you list in your post) and then delivers. It isn’t enough to promise a community and sense of belonging if you don’t DELIVER that feeling, that payoff… it’s what keeps Mac people excited about “getting to buy” a new Mac instead of “having to replace” an old PC.
Too often, marketing people try to brand themselves into people’s brains without realizing that you can’t tell great stories if you’ve got nothing wonderful to talk about. 🙂
Great post… I look forward to reading more 🙂
Hi Mack,
I read the article you linked to and I agree. Good comparison. I have many more thoughts on how Apple creates their products that in turn creates that sense of belonging, and I’ll be addressing that in my next post that will cover what the environmental movement can learn from Apple and human behavior. Should be interesting. 😉
Mandy, thanks for stopping by! So you’ll hear the choir boys when your new IPad arrives then?
Jokes aside, you’re completely right on about Mac DELIVERING every time. Even when the products have glitches, they are still so much closer to delivering what it is we want out of our gadgets that we keep coming back.
And we shall all bow down… 🙂
Oh, and hi Laura! Thanks for the big thumbs up!
Interesting idea, but without a published study or data to examine I don’t believe it for a minute. Does Lindstrom discuss it in Buyology (which I haven’t read)? Who were the subjects? What were their religious attitudes and levels of piety? What were the religious images, and how were they matched to the brand images?
Neurocritic, that was my criticism about the book in that it didn’t give all the background data on the studies. All I know is that there were 65 subjects and a series of images that included strong brands like Apple, Harley-Davidson, Coca-Cola, etc, religious images and icons, weaker brand images (he didn’t specify which), and sports images and figures.
However, I strongly suspect that this could be replicated in further studies and I base that on my experience of how people behave around and react to certain brands. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we view “Macheads” as being cultish.
P.S. You should read Buyology just to see what kind of claims are being made. I’d love to read your review of it. 😉
I downloaded Chapter 1, I’ll start with that…
This is so interesting! I remember reading that you are going to be writing more in the near future… I can’t wait!
Brands as somewhat of a religious experience is an angle I never thought of before.
Bethany, when I read that chapter, I remember thinking, “Yes!” because my relationship to some products seems to transcend just that the product suits my needs, or that I really really like it, or think it’s cool or whatever. But I do have some more thoughts about all of this and have two new posts coming shortly. (I’m working out my blogging schedule. 😉 )
To the Neurocritic: I suggest that we gather some data to compare “brain on religion” to “brain on Apple”, and then maybe throw in another brand for a 3rd comparison. I’m in the mood, and in a position, to run a study using some new imaging techniques (originally created to evaluate cognition associated with playing video games). The techniques should be suitable for making some comparisons of brain activity associated with brand stimuli, or better yet– we could employ a ‘brand selection’ paradigm where we record the brain function of participants while they make choices between brands. Can anyone can come up with the funds to do this (ie, a university, college, or maybe Pepsi Cola)? ‘Equivalent’ choices between religions (since we are comparing brand choice to religion) would be equally fascinating.
nice post!
I would add another point: plot/mission
I think alot of apple fans see apple as a movement that wants to make the world a better place. They keep supporting apple by buying their stuff because they want to be part of that. They see apple “reinventing” computers, mp3 players, smartphones and wonder “whats going to be next, where does Steve Jobs lead us next?”
I don`t know where I read this quote from a Harley Davidson employee, but I share it anyway:
“what we sell is the excuse for a 43 year old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people fear them – a rebel experience”
Apple doesn`t sell just computers and gadgets. Starbucks doesn`t sell just coffee
@Mandy, regarding promising and delivering: it doesn`t really matter how good apples product is. The apple fans are going to buy and love it. After months of anticipation and speculating about the product, they “invested” to much.
Its easier to convince themselves that the product is really good, than to say: “i really overestimated this product. I guess it was pretty stupid beeing so excited the last couple of weeks”
CKG, I agree. Those brands that sell an experience rather than just a product that will do xyz are the brands that will build a loyal following.
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Wow. I love your angle. I think much of the secularization of our culture has led to this kind “rituals and rites.” Instead of tall cathedrals the macheads make streamlined and beautiful products. The fill the air with as little space and as much form, function, and meaning as necessary.
Great points re: storytelling and evangelistic fervor. These are both going to be the selling points of the new commerce. I believe giants like mac are going to become stories (less COs), and the rock-concert evangelical joy that comes with “belonging” and “beauty” will be a movement in the mythodrama of the MMXI chapter.
Great post, again.
I LOVE your prose/point of view.
Thank you. 🙂