Anna Maria Virzi wrote a good article today discussing a talk Stephany Cavatoni from The Active Marketing Group gave. Cavatoni provided six factors which determined if a tribe existed or not. They were:
- Rituals
- Rites of Passage
- Symbols
- Adornments
- Norms/Values
- Leaders
On the whole I think these are some good indicators. However, in addition to knowing whether or not a tribe exists, I think it is important to know what state the tribe is in. The state will enable you to to know what strategies to use and what tactics work best.
Accelteon has loosely defined 3 Major States of Tribes:
- Well-Defined & Functional
- Evident But Not Yet Defined
- Not Evident
Each state poses its unique challenges, which we will get into with future posts. However, brands that can put their products/services at the core of a Well-Defined & Functional tribe can benefit the most (think Harley-Davidson or the Green Bay Packers).
