• Corona and lime: Do you know someone who doesn’t drink Corona by inserting a piece of lime or lemon down the bottle neck? Stories abound regarding this ritual’s origins. Some say it’s a Mexican habit to repel insects, while others say it’s to filter out bacteria. The truth is, in 1981 a Californian bartender was just curious to see how long it would take for a new drinking ritual to catch on. You know the rest…

• The Montreal Canadiens: There are so many rituals regarding the Habs, it’s hard to know where to begin! The white towels during the Playoffs, the victory chants, the famous Na na naaa, Goodbye… Night after night, 21 273 attendees create a powerful, collective experience that makes a hockey game at the Bell Center exhilarating.

• Dragon Blood: Montreal’s Auberge du Dragon Rouge is a restaurant famous for Dragon Blood, a burning, stinging drink that mixes whiskey, wine and (a lot of) Tabasco. Who’d pay to gulp down something so painful? The restaurant made the drink famous by creating an elaborate show around it. The waiter narrates the rich (though fictive) story of the mixture, invites the brave few who ordered some to stand on their chair and down their shots, while other patrons cheer and applaud. People don’t order Dragon Blood to have their throat burned: they want to be part of this collective experience, to show their mettle in front of their friends… Any bar could copy the recipe, but probably wouldn’t have the same success.

Creating a ritual around a company product or service takes time but can become a powerful asset to your brand. Repeating a ritual builds loyalty, and makes people want to share the brand with their friends and family. It’s a powerful way to stand out, to highlight what makes your company unique. Do people put a lime in any beer other than Corona?

Three things are necessary for a ritual to catch on:

• The ritual must be simple. If it’s too complex, if you need to explain it three times, if it requires a bunch of accessories, people won’t join in. Someone who experienced the ritual once should be able to reproduce it. Ex: When drinking Glenrothes scotch, it’s tradition to give a toast to Byeway, a ghost who used to haunt the distillery.

• The ritual must be fun. Fun is what makes people want to repeat the ritual and share it with others. It’s a positive experience, one that creates fond memories. Ex: If you order flambéed bananas at the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar hotel in Dominican Republic, the chef will prepare it at your table, putting on an elaborate show. It’s very impressive, everybody’s looking, people applaud, then other clients order the same thing…

• The ritual must be consistent. Making sure the ritual is identical every time is probably the most important point. Otherwise, you risk people having high expectations, and then being disappointed when the experience doesn’t fully deliver. To continue using the previous example, let’s say tonight the chef is tired and doesn’t feel like putting on a show. Still, a few groups have ordered flambéed bananas. Rather than preparing them individually, the chef sets his cart in the middle of the room, prepares a big bunch and has the waiters deliver them left and right. People are bound to be disappointed by this, making the evening a bad memory. People didn’t want desert: they wanted a show, just for their table.

What ritual could you create to make your company stand out? Is there a gift or a ceremony that could make a high-end purchase memorable? An unusual way of using, or presenting your product? A gift for loyal clients who act as your brand ambassadors?