Turning ritual theory into marketing practice

Opinion

Rituals can turn passive consumption into a ceremony. Ads and brand experiences that nurture them might become fixtures in people’s emotional lives, says Simon Carr.

Whether low-key or wildly extravagant, religious or secular, every one of us has taken part in a ritual. From weddings and graduation ceremonies to the more personal and esoteric, the list will be long and varied.

But what exactly are rituals, why should a strategist care – and how can we turn ritual theory into marketing practice?

Unlike routines or habits, which are automatic behaviours performed through repetition, rituals also rely on repetition but in a structured, deliberately performed way that carries cultural or social significance.

They exist in every known society, marking life transitions, fostering cohesion and building meaning, both symbolically and emotionally – and it’s that last part that is especially interesting.

Yet rituals are rarely discussed in a marketing context. Search for ‘habit’, ‘routine’ or ‘behaviour’ on The Media Leader and many thousands of results appear; search for ‘ritual’ and you’ll find fewer than a hundred across decades of content.

That gap matters because rituals’ symbolic and emotional weight makes them strategically valuable, as does the fact that everyday actions can become rituals once they acquire meaning.

In brand terms, rituals could turn passive consumption into something closer to ceremony, and ads and brand experiences that nurture them might then become fixtures in people’s emotional lives.

Types of ritual

Rituals really do run through every layer of human life, right back to the dawn of history.

Some are small and personal, like the morning coffee that provides focus and comfort. Others mark key life stages, from an 18th birthday in many Western cultures to Hindu rites such as Ritu Kala Samskara and Upanayana, formalising the shift from childhood to adulthood.

Seasonal and cultural rituals follow recurring cycles and bind communities through shared values and spectacle.

Burning Man, Christmas, the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Olympic Opening Ceremony all create collective moments. The FIFA World Cup, with its four-year cycle, becomes a global ritual of hope, pride and athletic competition (as much as mourning and self-reflection).

And many brands have created their own rituals too. A slow Guinness pour with a shamrock, the theatre of an Apple unboxing, or the distinctive way of sharing a chocolate bar turn consumption into meaningfully symbolic acts that can reinforce brand identity and consumer loyalty. They give brand experiences a deeper meaning.

Ritulism and category entry points

Regular readers of this column will be familiar with Hearts’ work on Category Entry Points (CEPs).

CEPs map the situations, needs, and contexts that trigger brand choice. They are the mental doorways through which people enter a category, and the strength of a brand often depends on how well it attaches itself to those moments.

Rituals offer a way to deepen this connection. Given that they are built on behaviour and repetition, but underpinned by emotion and meaning, they possess multiple qualities that anchor brands more securely in people’s lives.

When we explored CEPs in the context of the National Lottery, for example, we saw how habitual play could be reframed as a ritual of hope and possibility, creating a more resonant and enduring role for the brand.

For strategists, the challenge is to spot the latent rituals already forming around a category or product.

What do people already do repeatedly, but without consciously recognising it? Could that behaviour be reframed as intentional, shared, or even sacred? Which emotional states sit on either side of the moment of use? How might advertising help anchor a brand within moments of transition or togetherness? And what small branded behaviours could repeat endlessly without becoming tiresome?

The answers open a pathway for creative and strategic planning that embeds brands more deeply in aspects of people’s lives that hold meaning, rather than chasing superficial integration or fleeting moments of attention.

A helpful way to approach this is to map the behaviours surrounding a product, then look for the points where repetition, emotion, and meaning naturally overlap.

From there, think about sequence and symbolism. Can a brand create or amplify a distinctive step in that sequence that carries cultural weight?

Campaigns that acknowledge, shape, or invent such rituals give brands a far stronger presence in people’s emotional lives. This is less about manufacturing artificial moments and more about recognising the behaviours people already treasure and adding resonance to them.

How to design a brand ritual

That’s the theory, but how do brands put this into practice?

Discover

Start by observing how people already use your product. Map when, where and how it appears in their routines.

Notice repeated actions or unconscious choreography – what they do before, during or after use. Ethnographic research, or tools like diary studies and social listening, can help uncover these habits.

Ask what people do around your product, when they reach for it instinctively, and what gestures are uniquely their own.

It’s also essential to identify the emotional core. Rituals encode feelings such as comfort, focus, belonging or relief.

Understand what emotion your product unlocks and what mental state it starts or ends. Then explore the broader cultural context. Look for existing rituals that align with your audience’s world – for example, coffee as “morning grounding,” or skincare as “self-care” – and spot moments your brand could naturally elevate.

Define

Next, actively shape the ritual.

Focus on one micro-moment where emotion meets repetition, such as the instant between an alarm ringing and the first sip of coffee.

Give it structure through a simple arc: a trigger that cues the behaviour, an action that expresses it, and a reward that delivers meaning.

Add symbolism through language, gestures, or icons linked to human themes such as renewal or belonging.

Create

Bring the ritual to life through design, storytelling and sensory cues. A sound, phrase or visual motif can anchor it in memory.

Let people co-create their own versions so it spreads organically, and resist excessive brand control.

Yet still firmly embed the ritual in your product or service experience, not just in advertising – such as a daily reset prompt, or a symbolic phrase on packaging.

Sustain

Finally, sustain it through repetition and time.

Mark seasonal or annual moments that reinforce it. Measure success through participation, imitation and emotional recall.

When people name or share the ritual unprompted… congratulations; it has become part of culture.