A24’s in-group language

A24 might be a film company, but with a hugely successful merch store, they're also a lifestyle brand.

And this email they sent to promote The Lighthouse prop auction is a chock-a-block with lessons on how to create a brand that people feel seen by.

Check out all of the niche references in this email. There's A LOT.

And yet, not a one is explained. Not one is it treated with a 😉 emoji to emphasise the joke.

And that's because A24 have absolute faith that their audience will get these jokes and references. They know exactly who they're talking to.

There's a concept in linguistics called a shibboleth, which was originally a biblical password that identified which tribe you came from based on whether you could pronounce it correctly. (And because it was Old Testament stuff, if you couldn't pronounce the word, you were executed. Lovely.)

Now, the word shibboleth means a piece of language that only insiders know how to use.

Every subculture has them. Film people have them. Craft beer people have them. Cyclists, gamers, chefs, make up enthusiasts, even marketers... we all have little details or phrases or observations that separate people selling to us from people like us.

And when a brand uses them correctly, it takes the brand from outside their customers to being one of them.

For insiders — AKA people who immediately get the reference or recognise the word — it creates recognition and belonging. That's basic Social Identity Theory in action: people derive real self-esteem and loyalty from the groups they belong to.

And when your ideal customer reads your copy and thinks "oh yeah, these guys get it", then they mentally place themselves in your in-group. And research consistently shows that in-group identification drives loyalty, word of mouth, and resistance to switching.

Re-ee-sult.

But what about if they don't get the reference? Or don't understand the words?

Well, that's where things get really interesting.

For people who don't get the reference but that are aligned with your brand, it creates a desire to be part of your community. In fact, research on aspirational reference groups found that people actively seek out and buy from brands that represent the group they want to belong to.

A24 absolutely nail this. They're a brand for cinephiles. (Or people that want to feel like cinephiles.) But their language only talks to the former. The latter group see this and want to be part of that crowd. (And what's the way to feel like part of it? To buy the stuff.)

Nick this for your brand: what are the shibboleths in your world? What are the references, the phrases, the shared jokes that only your best customers would immediately get? What bits of slang do you use?

They're the little details that can make your copy feel authentic and real and lived in.