Ep306: Marketing Tactics of Religions & Cults - Prof. Mara Einstein

In this episode I am joined by Professor Mara Einstein, digital marketing critic; author and public speaker on cult brands and influencer scams; and tenured professor of media studies at Queens College (CUNY).

Mara discusses her latest book “Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults”, warns about manipulative marketing techniques used in media and religions, details the 9 steps of cult recruitment, and shares case studies of religious marketing models.

Mara recalls her own life journey from an early interest in religions and cults, her path through academia studying religion and marketing, and her own discipleship under and subsequent disillusionment with spiritual teacher and political activist Marianne Williamson.

Mara also considers religion as a product, analyses stealth Buddhism and prosperity gospel preachers, and offers her own thoughts on how religious groups can market themselves more ethically.

…

Video version: guruviking.com/podcast/ep306-marketing-tactics…

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

…

Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
01:08 - Hoodwinked,
01:21 - Religion as a product
02:17 - Early interest in religion and cults
03:36 - PhD about religion and policy
05:35 - Televangelists and the Passion of the Christ
06:52 - The Purpose Driven Church marketing
07:34 - The secularisation theory and why the US bucks the trend
08:13 - Joel Osteen vs Oprah Winfrey
09:34 - Why do secular organisations use religious themes?
11:41 - Cults and Multi-level marketing
13:14 - Brand cults such as Apple
14:46 - Marketing Hoodwinked
1536 - Social media vs television advertising
16:37 - Rage farming, increased anxiety, and becoming susceptible to messaging
20:20 - Brand purchases as expressions of individual identity
21:42 - Selling the sacred, how religion and marketing intersects
25:03 - Mara’s own religious journey through Judaism and the New Age
26:31 - Becoming a follower of Marianne Williamson
27:01 - Disillusioned by religion
27:13 - Studying evangelicals
27:58 - Interviewing Ralph White
28:29 - Mara analyses her own journey to becoming a follower of Marianne Williamson
32:00 - World Nutella Day
34:18 - Going deeper with Marianne Williamson
36:10 - 9 steps of cult recruitment
36:47 - Targeting the vulnerable
40:26 - Upselling and the Kabbalah Centre
42:02 - Love-bombing
43:14 - Tough love
44:34 - Creation of in and out groups
46:30 - Severe repercussions for leaving
47:22 - American Evangelism
49:33 - How should religions market themselves with integrity?
49:52 - “He Gets Us” and the Alpha Course
52:07 -2 year mission trips don’t work
52:41 - The best marketing is to live the message
54:49 - Shady marketing tactics to avoid
56:22 - Beware of panacea answers
57:02 - Beware the charismatic leader
57:56 - How would Mara advice a religious group to use marketing ethically?
59:33 - Know your target audience
01:01:13 - The brilliance of Rick Warren’s consumer research driven marketing
01:02:47 - Is stealth Buddhism shady marketing?
01:04:44 - Bait and switch of secular mindfulness
01:06:34 - Capitalist meditation
01:07:42 - Is MBSR a bait and switch?
01:09:09 - Mara’s advice for those selling corporate mindfulness
01:10:15 - Transparency vs deception
01:12:23 - Make it ok to question and ok to leave
01:13:31 - Hoodwinked
01:14:15 - Pervasiveness of cults
01:15:13 - Influencers and a spectrum of cults
01:16:29 - Teal Swan and lifestyle marketing
01:17:21 - Anyone can be pulled into a cult

…

To find our more about Professor Mara Einstein, visit:
- drmaraeinstein.com

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James