Which Tribe Do You Belong To?
We humans are ‘ultra-social’ creatures. We need to belong more than any other species. This need sometimes leads to irrational behaviour.
At junior school, my great little friend, Michael Shone, was an Everton fan. His family were Everton fans. His house was painted blue and white and it was called ‘Goodison Park’. This was in Chester, not Liverpool.
We like to think of ourselves as logical, rational independent thinkers. We might scoff at extreme affiliations and behaviours. But it’s always good to just reflect on our own brand affiliations.
I’m not a football fan. I wasn’t brought up in a football household. I’ve never been to a professional football match in a stadium. Consequently, when I come across football media coverage I watch and listen dispassionately. The numbers are bewildering to me - the salaries, the corporate shenanigans and so on. But I recognise it’s not my world, not my tribe. The connection people have with their teams is at a level that defies reason.
As Bill Shankly said, ‘Football is not life and death - it is much more important than that’.
I am a music fan. I am a musician. This is my tribe. From the moment I first touched a guitar at 7 I knew something had happened. Music, guitars, practice, bands…it’s as strong for me now as it was 50 years ago. All my life I have listened to and watched my heroes playing their guitars - their Gibsons and Fenders. I’ve always been a Gibson Tribesman with various forays into Fender territory. As much as I can try and rationalise it, I still get a powerful emotional feeling in my body when I set eyes on a Gibson. Just looking at a headstock and the logo resonate with meaning, emotion, association.
That is brand connection - pure, raw and unalloyed.
I tried a Japanese Gibson copy in a shop recently. It looked great, played great - even sounded pretty good….and a third of the price of the Gibson. Forget it. When the money is available it’s going to be a Gibson.
I’ll let Mr Shankly have the last word:
“If you’re a member of The Kop, you feel as though you’re a member of a big society, where you’ve got thousands of friends all about you. They’re united and loyal”.
@Gibsonguitar #Gibson @gibsonguitaruk #brandstrategy #brandstrategymatters @lee bartram
