Ever wonder why one particular brand's product resonates
with consumers while the same product from a competing brand evokes
zilch? Skip the speculation and look to Patrick Hanlon, founder and
CEO of Minneapolis-based idea--engineering firm Thinktopia. An
executive who has worked on campaigns for the likes of Absolut,
Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Ford and Samsung, Hanlon explains in
his new book, Primal Branding, how your brand can
"bond" with customers by creating an emotional
attachment.
Entrepreneur: In today's marketplace, why do
customers need to feel bonded to a brand?
Patrick Hanlon: In our society, we have 500 different
kinds of cars, 100 different types of soft drinks, etc. And thanks
to quality technology, everything is about the same. So it
basically boils down to whom customers feel better about.
That's called preference, and preference creates sales.
Content Continues Below
Entrepreneur: Discuss a brand consumers clearly
prefer over its competitors.
Hanlon: Starbucks Corp. seized the public's
imagination in a clear way. It differentiated itself in terms of
language. Their communities are familiar with "iced
grande" or "skinny latte." The vocabulary is
clear-cut: The sizes are tall, grande and venti; it's not a
counter, it's a bar; and it's a barista who makes the
drink. They've taken a very commonplace experience--drinking
coffee--and made it their own proprietary experience. What primal
branding does is create a belief system that surrounds your brand,
so you get into a territory that goes beyond just functionality,
features and benefits.
Entrepreneur: You name seven brand
messages--creation story, creed, icons, rituals, pagans, sacred
word and leader--that make up the primal code, which creates
preferential brand appeal. How critical is each one?
Hanlon: They are all important. It's like a pattern
or a language--it can't be scrambled up.
Entrepreneur: Does the primal code offer a more
level playing ground for small businesses to compete with major
corporations in any way?
Hanlon: It actually gives small businesses a huge
competitive advantage, not just at a functional and benefits level,
but at an emotional level. This is really a way to manage the
intangibles of the brand and make it operational. I've been
testing [the primal code] on smaller companies over the last year
and a half, and it works. It's transformational.