What makes a company / brand draw the most devoted / loyal supporters..

I've always been curious as to what makes a company / brand exert influence over certain type of consumers and turn them into the most devoted loyal hardcore supporters (fanboys).

From your personal experience (in SW and other online / offline venues) what do you think is the root cause that encourages such behavior? I.e the key ingredient if you will, that goes into the making of a hardcore fanboy?

And do those in-your-face arrogant vocal supporters realize sometimes they're actually harming the very brand they support with their derogatory remarks to whomever don't share their devotion? Or do they truely believe that somehow bullying others into their devotion is the way to go about supporting their brand?

Can we discuss about games and systems instead of fanboys? This is System Wars, not Fanboy Wars.

Can we discuss about games and systems instead of fanboys? This is System Wars, not Fanboy Wars.

mario-galaxys

apple /thread.

apple /thread.

nismo8000

This. Apple even fueled the pc vs mac with their commercials.

Too bad they cant make those commercials about samsung :P

Brand tribalism. It's not about conversion at all, but projecting the idea that you're superior to others by virtue of your choice.lowe0

actually you're right, here is an excerpt explaining fanboysim from a sociological perspective

we incorporate the brands we love into our own self-image. When someone else criticizes or attacks a brand we love, we feel as if we ourselves are under attack. That's why so many people respond passionately to attacks on brands - it's a matter of self-defense.

In other words, when a fanboy - a derogatory term generally used to describe someone who loves something beyond reason - calls you stupid because you don't recognize how inherently awesome the fanboy's obsession is, it's because you attacked his self-image by not embracing that obsession. It's not a rational response but it's natural. It's similar to the reaction you would feel if someone directly insulted you. The threat to the image of yourself would initiate a response. That response might be completely internal or it might lead to barbed insults or even flying fists.

...
Identifying ourselves as members of a larger community is a great survival mechanism. It stands to reason that self-protection is a survival mechanism. But by incorporating the concept of a group within our own self-image means we're also willing to protect that group. This helps insure that the species as a whole continues. If someone attacks a group we belong to, we respond as if it is a personal attack.

source

how_stuff_works

I guess the question that remains is, do fanboys know they're being "beyond reason" with their obsession when they unnecesarily initiate attacks on anyone that don't share their obsession?

I mean what's the gratification of annoying others that never attacked them / their brand?