It’s the holy grail of brand loyalty - customers within whose DNA your brand is so embedded that they actually create original music about you. Heck, not just that, but music videos about you. Brand Fandom.

Trader Joe’s (or TJ’s as it is affectionately known) is one of those brands that inspires strong feelings - passion, even - among its customers. It’s really rather remarkable, even if that passion is sometimes tinged with frustration about TJ’s, um, quirks. And that’s what I think is most interesting: people are not perfectionists when it comes to a brand experience. Sure, we hold brands up to a high standard. But folks seem to look at the quirks of TJ’s (like the parking lots that are never big enough?) as the inevitable and somewhat lovable failings of an old, dear friend. That’s pretty powerful stuff. And what about the implications for the ways in which consumers shape brands? Well, more on that in another post.