As anyone tuned in at all to what's happening in Atlanta knows, IKEA opened a store in Atlantic Station at the end of June. Although IKEA is an $18 billion company with 227 stores in 33 countries, this was only the company's 23rd store in the United Stales.
The cover story of the Nov. 14 issue of Business Week was "IKEA: How the Swedish Retailer Became a Global Cult Brand."
The definition of a cult brand usually refers to the passion customers have for the brand, feelings that go way beyond mere brand loyalty, and IKEA's Atlanta grand opening certainly demonstrated the passion customers have for this brand. One customer, Roger Penguino, pitched his tent seven days before the opening, winning the $4,000 gift card awarded to the first customer. By the opening, he had been joined by 2,000 others.
How has IKEA managed to generate this level of passion among its customers? There are a number of things that IKEA, along with other cult brands — such as Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, Krispy Kreme and Virgin — do that turn their customers into brand evangelists.
No comments:
Post a Comment