Guinness, Corona, Spotify Share Branding Trick: Rituals

Brands are increasingly employing customer rituals as a powerful branding strategy, transforming everyday actions into memorable and shareable experiences that foster deep engagement and loyalty. This approach focuses on creating small, repeatable behaviors that customers adopt, turning them into habits and cultural phenomena. Guinness, a 265-year-old stout, exemplifies this with its "Splitting the G" ritual, where drinkers aim to take their first sip so the foam line aligns with the letter 'G' on the pint glass. Initially, the target was the space between the harp and the Guinness logo, but social media simplified the ritual for easier sharing. This participatory act has led to tens of millions of views for #SplitTheG on TikTok and Instagram, introducing the brand to younger demographics. Guinness experienced a 14% sales growth in 2024, followed by another 13% in 2025, and has attracted 3.8 million new drinkers since 2019, earning it the moniker "Gen Z darling" from The New York Times. The brand's success demonstrates that altering the behavior around a product, rather than the product itself, can significantly boost its appeal.

In the hospitality sector, Coqodaq restaurant in New York incorporates a pre-meal handwashing ritual at an elaborate sink, a theatrical moment that patrons frequently film and share, contributing to the restaurant's exclusive reputation and making it a highly sought-after reservation. This strategy of embedding rituals into the customer experience is not new. Corona, recognized as the world's most valuable beer brand at an estimated $9.7 billion, established the ritual of adding a lime wedge, an instantly recognizable and iconic practice. Spotify's annual "Wrapped" campaign has evolved into a highly anticipated ritual for its users. The 2023 release engaged over 200 million users within 24 hours, marking a 19% year-over-year increase in engagement, and generated approximately 500 million social media shares. These examples highlight how brands that cultivate such customer-driven rituals often achieve greater lasting impact and brand recall than those relying solely on traditional advertising.

The effectiveness of these rituals lies in their ability to create a sense of community and personal connection with the brand. When customers actively participate in a brand's ritual, they become co-creators of its narrative and culture. This participatory element is particularly potent in the digital age, where social media platforms facilitate the rapid dissemination and evolution of these practices. For Guinness, the #SplitTheG hashtag has become a testament to this phenomenon, allowing a global community of drinkers to share their experiences and reinforce the brand's cultural significance. Similarly, Spotify's Wrapped encourages users to reflect on and share their listening habits, fostering a sense of personal discovery and collective experience.

These rituals serve as powerful differentiators in crowded markets. By encouraging specific, repeatable actions, brands can carve out unique spaces in consumers' minds and daily routines. The success of Guinness, Corona, and Spotify underscores a fundamental principle of modern branding: moving beyond passive consumption to active participation. This shift not only drives immediate engagement and sales but also builds enduring brand equity and cultural relevance. The investment in designing and promoting these customer-centric rituals appears to be a strategic imperative for brands aiming for sustained growth and deep consumer connection in the contemporary marketplace.