Create A Ritual Around The Usage Or Consumption Of Your Brand!

In the article “An Actionable Definition of Brands. Benefits. Examples. Approach” I define brands as “the sum of all the associations consumers have with a particular product or service”. In the article “What Is A Brand Positioning? Definition, Benefits, Framework, And Examples”, I define brand positioning as” the set of associations you want your consumers to assign to your brand in the next 3 to 5 years.”

Our own research and analysis of over 1200 case studies of successful brand building shows that 26 potential sources of brand associations can systematically be explored when trying to position a brand.

 One of them is Brand Rituals, which we are exploring here.

Brand rituals

A brand can enhance its perceived appeal—and in some cases command a higher price point—by trying to create a ritualized behavior around the brand’s actual consumption or usage. In fact, research from Harvard University shows that people who ritualize their consumption (or use) of a brand find the experience more rewarding and enjoyable and are willing to pay more for the brand. This can be as simple as the ritual of unwrapping a piece of chocolate before eating it (Ferrero, for example, is a master at packaging its products and brands to create this sense of anticipation. Ferrero Rocher anyone?).

Brand rituals versus consumer rituals

Branded rituals differ from consumer rituals described earlier in that they are specific to the brand and its use or consumption. A branded ritual can be used to either make the brand experience feel more special or to add meaning and positive associations to a brand or its user. Typical examples would be the 9 steps required to pour a Stella Artois, the ritual of eating an Oreo cookie (preferably while arguing with a loved one about the best way to eat it), making s’mores over an open fire (Hershey’s), or the squeezing of a lime into a Corona bottle (the final touch). Febreze positioned itself for a while as the final touch of the home’s cleaning ritual.

Branded rituals differ from consumer rituals in that they are specific to the brand and its use or consumption. A branded ritual can be used to either make the brand experience feel more special or to add meaning and positive associations to a brand or its user.

Examples of branded rituals

Typical examples would be the 9 steps required to pour a Stella Artois, the ritual of eating an Oreo cookie (preferably while arguing with a loved one about the best way to eat it), making smores over an open fire (Hershey’s), or the squeezing of a lime into a Corona bottle (the final touch). Febreze, for example, positioned itself for a while as the final touch of the home’s cleaning ritual. 

Thought Starters

1. Make a list of all the steps and actions a consumer would go through to use or consume your brand? Observation and personal experience are a great way to generate these.
2. Identify which of these steps could be associated with a ritual (i.e. associated with an emotional transformation). This could be a trigger action or an act resulting from the consumption of the brand.
3. List all the emotional transformations these various steps and actions could potentially lead to (let your creativity go wild).
4. Based on the lists you’ve just created, discuss and distinguish the most unique and meaningful steps and the most relevant emotional potential transformations that might occur. Translate those into positioning ideas.
5. Based on the lists you’ve just created, discuss and distinguish the most unique and meaningful steps and the most relevant emotional potential transformations that might occur. Translate those into positioning ideas.

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