Tribes R Us
What do nation-states, the Superbowl and Facebook groups have in common? They are all expressions of an ancient human trait — one that spans our entire recorded history and is shared amongst every culture. It’s tribalism.
We form tribes because once upon a time, it was essential for survival. Turning your back on your entire group (let’s say because Ogg got it on with your cave-wife) would have been a near death-sentence back when people still had names like Ogg. Nature selected for individuals that had an ingrained loyalty to their group which could outlast and override any urge to leave…and that instinct is still very much part of us today.
Many businesses leverage this deep-seated tribal instinct. They strategically create an emotional connection between consumers and their brand — resulting in brand tribalism. Something that used to keep us alive now gets us to choose Apple over Samsung. How about that?
Apple is an exceptional example of this. Millions of Apple devotees (aka “fanboys”) eagerly await each new Apple product release. They are quick to forgive inflated prices and headline news worthy glitches. Apple does this not just by creating beautiful, well designed, technologically advanced products — they do it by giving their customers a sense of belonging. Stick with the Apple tribe and you will be safe and respected amongst others.
Other companies cleverly hijack existing tribal loyalties instead of creating their own from scratch. If you’re proud to be American, why not wear clothes from Walmart since, after all, they “dress America”. Jeep somehow manages to tap into both patriotism and political affiliation without taking a side in their “Free To Be” campaign.
But Apple isn’t the world leader in brand tribalism, nor is Walmart or Jeep. The real champion are the brands that make up professional sports.
The sports industry and its brands as we know them arose directly from our tribal instincts. This is why sports have been around for millennia and span all cultures. The brand loyalty in sports is so strong that customers proudly refer to themselves as fan(atic)s. Sports fandom goes back as far as organized religion. We even associate the two with some of the same vocabulary (think faith, devotion, worship, sacrifice, suffering, and celebration)
According to Mina Cikara, director of the Harvard Intergroup Neuroscience Lab, sports could potentially be a modern-day constructive outlet for our tribalist tendencies. Unlike racism, religious intolerance, and war she points out that sports brings us more pleasure than harm. As Robert Cialdini, professor Emeritus of Psychology at Arizona State University, puts it, “Our sports heroes are our warriors”
Although brand loyalty may also tap into this tribalistic tendency, even the most die-hard ‘Apple fanboy” isn’t going to be marching down streets with Apple’s logo on his face or cry actual tears when Apple doesn’t beat its competitor’s revenue in the next quarter… but sports has that power.
