Tribal marketing has been around for a long time. The most obvious and effective examples are sports teams, technology and games consoles.
These all split communities and inspire die hard loyalty amongst their fans.
One of my favourite examples of this is from Scott Young (Author of Ultralearning) who said that the fastest way to get kicked out of a party is to find the biggest Apple fan in attendance and tell them that Samsung is better (regardless of what you actually think).
Apple has been particularly good at creating and engaging their tribe. These people are willing to pay more for the products, buy the latest upgrades and purchase, watches, phones, laptops and tablets all from the Apple ecosystem.
It’s one of the reasons Apple has been consistently one of the most profitable technology companies over the last fifteen or twenty years.
Their fans will also defend the brand right to the end.
Sports teams inspire the same level of fanaticism, obsession and defence of their team. A quote by Eric Cantona, the Manchester United and France forward, said it best.
“You can change your wife, your politics, your religion, but never, never can you change your favourite football team.”
What continues to amaze me is the power and influence that a football team has over its followers. As well as the lengths that people will go to in order to reach a game.
A three-day drive across Europe.
Or even the ultimate sign of dedication to a brand that someone can show.
Getting the brand logo tattooed on themselves.
