HOW TO DEVELOP CULT BRANDS

ABSTRACT

Companies, in today’s fiercely competitive market, are focusing and striving hard to develop

consumer loyalty for their brands. Due to the unavailability of much literature on cult brands,

brand managers still face ambiguity when launching brands with the aim of developing a cult

brand. This study is aimed to generate better understanding of the strategies to generate cult-

like following for food brands. The study focuses on development of cult brands in the food

industry and identifies various factors which are deemed imperative for generating loyalty for

FMCG brands in general and food brands in particular. A review of existing literature revealed

that developing cult brands in the food sector is difficult due to varied dynamics of food

industry, but is not impossible. Due to massive proliferation of products and brands in the food

industry, nature of food products, and evolving consumer behaviour, companies in the food

industry need to focus on product differentiation; building stronger relationships with

consumers by creating a wholesome experience for consumers with the brand; engaging

consumers with the brand utilizing social media platform; co-creating the product and brand

with consumers; and using company as a brand. The findings are based on existing literature as

well as on the primary research. The primary research contributes by getting valuable insights

from knowledgeable academicians that has enabled me to come up with detailed analysis and

recommendations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.1 - WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE TO HAVE A BRANDED PRODUCT?ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2 - DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PRODUCT AND A BRAND ........................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.3 - WHY DO STRONG BRANDS MATTER? ............................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.4 - BUILDING STRONG BRANDS ......................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.5 - ICONIC BRANDS ........................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.6 - BRAND LOYALTY .......................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.6.1 - EMOTIONAL AND RELATIONAL BRANDING AND CO-CREATION OF THE PRODUCTSERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.6.2 - BRAND LOYALTY IN FOOD INDUSTRY ...................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.7 - CULT BRANDS .............................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.8 - DEVELOPMENT OF CULT BRANDS ................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.9 - CULT BRANDS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY .......................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.9.1 - COCA-COLA ....................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.9.2 - KELLOGG’S CORNFLAKES ...................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.9.3 - MARMITE .......................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.9.4 - KENDAL MINT CAKE ............................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.9.5 - INNOCENT DRINKS .............................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.9.6 - KRISPY KREME .................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.10 - DEVELOPING CULT BRANDS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY ................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3. FINDINGS ............................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.1 - ATTRIBUTES OF FOOD INDUSTRY WHICH AFFECT BRANDS’ LOYALTYERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.2 - STRATEGIES WHICH HAVE AND MAY ENABLE COMPANIES TO DEVELOP CULT BRANDS IN THE FOOD

INDUSTRY ........................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.2.1 - BRAND POSITIONING ........................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.2.2 - CO-CREATION .................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.2.3 - SOCIAL MEDIA ................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.2.4 - EMOTIONAL AND RELATIONAL MARKETING ............................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.2.5 - CORPORATE BRANDING ....................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.2.6 - ORGANIC FOOD MARKETING ................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.3 - OTHER STRATEGIES WHICH WERE IDENTIFIED FOR DEVELOPING CULT BRANDS IN FOOD INDUSTRY

........................................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4.1 - PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION: BASIS FOR DEVELOPING A CULT BRANDERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4.2 - EMOTIONAL BRANDING: CONNECTING BRANDS TO CONSUMERS .. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4.3 - BRANDING THROUGH WEB: BRIDGE THE GAP ............................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4.4 - CO-CREATING THE BRAND AS WELL AS THE PRODUCT ................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4.5 - USING COMPANY AS A BRAND – UNVEILING THE COMPANY .......... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4.6 - WHAT DO REPORTS OF TRENDS IN FOOD INDUSTRY SUGGEST? ..... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5. CONCLUSION.......................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1 - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH .............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

APPENDICES .............................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

APPENDIX 1: PERCENTAGE OF USERS OF THESE PRODUCTS WHO ARE LOYAL TO ONE BRAND ... ERROR!

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APPENDIX 2: FIFTEEN MEANINGFUL FORMS OF BRAND-CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPERROR! BOOKMARK NOT

DEFINED.

APPENDIX 3: NESTLE’S POLO SUCKER OR CRUNCHER GAME .................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

APPENDIX 4: CUSTOMER VALUE-CHAIN INVOLVEMENT (CVCI) MODEL .. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURES

Figure 1: Seven steps to build customer relationships and co-creation of products (Source: Winsor 2004)

.................................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 2: Industry executives' rankings of most important health trends in personalized food and drinks

(Source: Pilcher 2008) ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 3: The targeted health benefits of Amoriss bite-size organic dark chocolate (Source: Pilcher 2008)

.................................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 4: Industry executives' ranking of most important ethical, indulgence and convenience trends in

personalized food and drinks over the next five years (Source: Pilcher 2008) ....... Error! Bookmark not

defined.

Figure 5: Innocent's family of products .................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 6: Percentage of people who report the types of online sources they have visited to get

information on a company, brand or product (Source: DEI Worldwide 2008) ....... Error! Bookmark not

defined.

Figure 7: Top Facebook Pages (Source: famecount.com) ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 8: Fastest growing stars worldwide (Source: famecount.com) ..... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 9: Oreo's Facebook page ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 10: Percentage of people who report they passed along the information they found online

(Source: EDI Worldwide 2008) .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 11: Attitudes toward information they receive from an online brand representative (Source: EDI

Worldwide 2008) ...................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 12: Heineken Experience in Amsterdam ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

TABLES

TABLE 1: Brands that excel at retaining brand loyalty (Source: Bartlett 2009) ....... Error! Bookmark not

defined.

TABLE 2: Value of organic food and drinks market in Europe and the US($bn), 2001-2011 (Source: Pilcher

2008) ......................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

TABLE 3: Industry survey answers to the question "how important is social media as a focus for the

following?” (Source: Band 2011) .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

TABLE 4: Industry survey answers to the question "to what extent does your business currently carry out

the following activities?" (Source: Band 2011) ......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

TABLE 5: Industry survey answers to the question "to what extent do you agree or disagree with the

following statements?" (Source: Band 2011) ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.