Once a month, the Sonder & Tell team swaps the weekly writing prompt for a book club. November’s read was an extract from Amanda Montell’s Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism – a gateway to the blurry discussion: are brands really cults? 

Merriam-Webster defines 'cult' as a 'great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work’. And when you break down the elements that make a brand, they're really not that different. You want a strong belief people can rally behind, loyal customers preaching about products like gospel, buzzwords that make sense to your insiders – the list goes on. Is that a good thing or bad? 

Think about it like this: when Glossier blew up, customers were obsessed with the idea of imperfect beauty. The brand defined itself with the mantra ‘skin first, makeup second’ and carefully chose product names like Cloud Paint and Skywash to allude to this au naturel aesthetic. 

IKEA, meanwhile, falls into what Montell might call a "live your life" category of broad, harmless, everyday cult. They've leant into the idea that everyone can make home, home: keeping costs low and furniture assembly simple for even the most novice DIYer. Product names are instantly recognisable and bandied around by those who know their Kallax from their Billy bookcase. And always get the meatballs.