The biggest lie still being told…
is that brands still mean anything.
I offer an alternative solution.
Everyone should build a cult.
Correction… everyone needs to build a cult.
There is probably no more overused word till being used in modern marketing than the word “brand.”
Well… maybe with one exception… “Creative Director”…
But that’s a rant for another day.
Spend five minutes on social media, you choose the platform, and all you’ll hear is:
“I started a brand.”
“I’m bulding my brand in public.”
“My brand this.”
“My brand that.”
Remember when the word “brand” used to mean something?
Now it’s hollow. It’s empty.
A brand today is seemingly nothing more than a logo, a color palette, and an LLC.
At best it’s a vibe… cosplaying as meaning.
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So I offer this idea.
That we move beyond the idea of “brand” altogether.
Let’s retire it.
Let’s put it up on the shelf to gather dust, with other words that have lost all meaning, like premium, luxury, authentic, and community.
Because in an era that is quickly being consumed by AI,
The reality is, you are either building a cult…
or you’re being relegated to commodity.
And before you say it… the answer is NO.
There is no middle ground.
Because when you build a business, there’s a fork in the road.
One path has a sign that reads CULT.
The other says COMMODITY.
Neither is easy.
Anyone who tells you otherwise has never built anything, let alone, anything real.
But here’s what I can tell you with absolute certainty,
only one of those paths comes with optionality.
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Because to build a commodity is a race to the bottom on pricing.
And your margins, those beautifully important margins will live and die by scale.
Because when you build a commodity you’re constantly chasing attention.
Begging the algorithm for mere scraps of visibility.
You are building a future where,
Price defines you and scale sustains you.
That’s the game.
A game of endurance.
A game of intentional sameness.
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But when you build a cult,
you play an entirely different game.
A game of world-building.
And in this world, you make the rules.
You create the mythology.
You turn logos into symbols.
You turn messaging into storytelling.
When you build a cult,
you’re not just selling a product,
you’re design a belief system.
Because cults build belief.
They offer belonging.
And belief, when combined with distribution is the only true moat left.
Because cults don’t chase attention.
They build for devotion.
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Commodities sell the What.
Cults sell the Why.
A commodity fades the moment the next thing is cheaper, faster, and newer.
But a cult… has narrative soveriegnty, a cult is forever.
So if you’re building something right now,
a business, a movement, a brand, a career,
ask yourself:
Are you chasing clicks,
or are you building belief?
Because in this new world,
where AI can clone every idea, every logo, every word,
belief is the only thing it can’t replicate.
So stop building a brand,
So you can start building your cult.
🙏