With Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album and a new behind-the-scenes film sending Taylormania back into orbit, consumer-behavior expert Ken Hughes wants marketers to stop humming along and start taking notes.
His new book, Taylormaking: A New Era of Modern Branding and Customer Connection, argues that Swift hasn’t just built a fandom—she’s engineered one of the most emotionally connected brands of our time. “This isn’t a biography of a pop star—it’s a blueprint for brand intimacy,” says Hughes. “Taylor Swift understands customer connection better than most CMOs.”
Widely known as “The King of Customer Experience,” Hughes is one of the world’s most respected voices on CX, modern consumer behavior, and brand engagement. He explores the intersection of psychology, technology, and human connection, delivering dynamic keynotes across five continents. Named among the Top 50 Global CX Influencers, Hughes helps organizations build emotional relevance and resilience in a disruptive world.
Drawing on two decades advising Fortune 500 companies, Hughes breaks Swift’s strategy into practical, repeatable moves: surprise drops that reward attention, personal storytelling that invites participation, community rituals that turn customers into a tribe, and vulnerability that breeds trust. Structured around Swift’s 12 albums, each chapter distills a different pillar of modern brand building: authenticity and values-led leadership, reinvention and creative risk, fan-led marketing and tribal loyalty, and empowerment and earned trust.
Timed to the release of The Life of a Showgirl, already touted as the most pre-saved album across major platforms, the book underscores a simple thesis: in 2025, customer connection is everything. For brands, that means designing experiences people want to belong to, not just buy from.
Hughes also places Swift’s methods in a broader CX context, highlighting how she creates scarcity windows without alienation, utilizes Easter eggs to gamify engagement, and transforms live events into multi-chapter narratives that extend far beyond the stage. The result is a clear, candid field guide for leaders who need growth and goodwill.
“This book is for anyone building a brand, whether you’re a Fortune 500 CMO or a Swiftie with a start-up,” Hughes adds.
Taylormaking: A New Era of Modern Branding and Customer Connection is available now. Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl is also available.
REELated:
Taylor Swift confirms new album, The Life of a Showgirl
