The Gathering named Jeep as the only auto brand in its 2018 list of Cult Brand Honorees, which also includes Snickers & Jack Daniel’s Whiskey.
When you get together with your fellow Jeep owners, what do you consider the group that you form? A motley crew? A family? A squad? According to The Gathering, which identifies itself as “an annual, informal coming together of the enlightened, influential illuminati behind the famous names that are getting customer engagement right,” you’re part of a cult.
Since 2013, The Gathering has been bringing together the thinkers and executives behind the companies who win fanatical loyalty and devotion from their customers and followers so they can share their principles and strategies. This year, it picked eight companies who have developed that rabid following: Vans, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Beats by Dr. Dre, Snickers, Gatorade, charity: water, Playstation, and Jeep. The Gathering honored all of its 2018 nominees and their leaders for their courage, strong band management through unconventional thinking, and benefiting from their cult-like status in Banff, Alberta, February 21-23.
Chris Kneeland, The Gathering co-founder and Chair of the Brand Selection Committee, said, “Other automotive brands have been nominated over the years, but it’s so fitting that Jeep is the first Cult Brand Honoree. It’s an iconic brand with vehicles that stand apart from any other in the automotive category. Their marketing, product innovation and customer engagement are best-of-breed and represent exactly how cult brands foster internal and external brand engagement.”
Cult may be a strong word to describe what Jeep has created, but it certainly has developed a huge following of avid owners and enthusiasts. We went wheeling with many of them during Austin JeepPeople’s 2018 Polar Bear Run. We’re happy to report that none of them were wearing robes or chanting creepy things.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
