The Brand Soulprint: Why People Don’t Buy What You Do, but Why You Do It
Some brands sell products. Some sell services. And then, there are the brands that sell a feeling, a movement—perhaps even a mild existential crisis about why you ever considered buying from anyone else.
The latter group is what I like to call Soulprint Brands—the kind that make people not just customers but disciples, evangelists, cult followers (but, you know, in a healthy, non-Charles-Manson-y way).
This isn’t just marketing fluff. Science backs it up. Studies on consumer behavior show that we don’t make rational purchasing decisions (shocking, I know). We buy emotionally and then justify it with logic later. This is why someone will happily pay three times the price for a Patagonia jacket while simultaneously insisting that organic bananas are a scam.
As Simon Sinek so famously put it:
People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.
And if you think about it, the brands that have inspired fandom, devotion, and the kind of loyalty usually reserved for golden retrievers and Taylor Swift all have one thing in common: a very clear and compelling WHY.
Let’s look at three of the best examples—because who doesn’t love a good business story?
Richard Branson & The Art of Making Business Unboring
Richard Branson didn’t start Virgin because he really loved airplanes. Or music. Or mobile plans. In fact, I’m fairly certain that if the corporate establishment hadn’t annoyed him to his core, he would have spent his life kite-surfing and hosting parties on Necker Island.
But Branson’s WHY was crystal clear:
Business should be fun, daring, and human.
And this belief bled into every single thing Virgin did. Airlines, record labels, mobile networks—it didn’t matter. The product was just the vehicle (sometimes literally) for the real mission: challenging the status quo and having a damn good time doing it.
Virgin employees don’t just work for a company. They join a culture—a lived, breathing organism built on playfulness, risk-taking, and not taking life too seriously. And because Branson loves what he does, it shows. Customers feel that energy.
That’s the secret sauce: when you genuinely love your brand, it becomes infectious.
And that’s what people buy. They buy the spirit of adventure, the feeling that they are not just another passenger or customer, but a fellow rogue in a world of bland, uninspired companies.
Yvon Chouinard & The Accidental Billionaire Who Hates Selling Things.
Now, Yvon Chouinard is an anomaly in the business world. He is possibly the only person who became a billionaire by actively trying not to be one.
Chouinard, a rock climber turned reluctant CEO, started Patagonia because he wanted better climbing gear, not a business empire. His personal philosophy?
Business should exist to serve the planet, not the other way around.
And so, Patagonia became the brand for people who like their outdoor gear with a side of environmental activism. They don’t just sell jackets—they sell a moral stance. They literally once ran an ad that said, “Don’t Buy This Jacket”, urging people to consume less. And people, naturally, bought more jackets than ever.
Why? Because buying Patagonia isn’t just about staying warm—it’s about staying woke. It’s a badge of values, a declaration that you, too, care deeply about the planet (even if you still occasionally forget to bring your reusable coffee cup).
And because this belief is so deeply embedded in the brand, it creates a culture. Employees don’t just take jobs at Patagonia—they join a cause.
And this, right here, is brand fandom in action.
Dietrich Mateschitz & The Energy Drink That Became a Way of Life.
Red Bull is, at its core, a mildly unpleasant-tasting caffeine bomb in a can. Yet, it has dominated the energy drink market for decades, not because of what it is, but because of what it represents.
Mateschitz didn’t market Red Bull as just another beverage. That would have been boring, and he was not a boring man. Instead, he created an entire ecosystem around the brand.
Red Bull isn’t a drink. It’s a lifestyle—one filled with extreme sports, death-defying stunts, and people who jump out of the stratosphere for fun.
This is why people don’t just drink Red Bull—they wear the logo, they attend the events, they subscribe to the brand’s YouTube channel like it’s a religion.
And that, my friends, is the secret of true brand fandom.
Brand Fandom: The Holy Grail of Business
A brand with a Soulprint doesn’t just have customers. It has fans. And fans don’t just buy from you—they advocate for you, defend you in online debates, and sometimes even tattoo your logo on their bodies (which, frankly, is a level of dedication most people don’t even have for their spouses).
Here’s the thing: Fandom isn’t built through features or pricing models. It’s built through shared belief systems.
Think about it:
- When you love your own brand, your customers can feel it.
- When you build a culture that aligns with what you believe, employees don’t just show up for a paycheck—they show up because they’re part of something bigger.
- When a brand is a lived experience, people don’t just buy it—they identify with it.
And that’s what makes these brands irreplaceable. Because you can copy a product, but you can’t copy a movement.
What This Means for You
If you want to build something that actually matters, something that attracts the kind of loyalty that makes people choose you over cheaper, faster, or more convenient options, you need to do one thing first:
Get crystal clear on your WHY.
Ask yourself:
What are you really fighting for?
What do your customers actually care about?
What’s the bigger movement you’re leading?
Because when you nail that, your brand isn’t just a business—it’s a beacon.
And that’s when people stop buying what you do… and start believing in why you do it.
Final thought: If you’ve read this far, you’re either an entrepreneur, a brand strategist, or just someone who really enjoys a good business story. Either way, remember this: your Soulprint is your unfair advantage.