Results

Patrick Hanlon — founder and CEO of Thinktopia, Inc. — believes that the most powerful brands create a community of believers around the world. Entities as diverse as Google, Mini Cooper, the U.S. Marine Corps, Fast Company, Cyan World, UPS, and Aveda all have a DNA, a “primal code” that resonates with their following and generates passion and fervor. This code enables the organizations to set themselves apart in a world where products and services have lost meaning and companies are content to be on a par with everyone else.

The seven elements of a belief system or Primal Code are:

• Creation Story
• Creed
• Icons
• Rituals
• Pagans, or Nonbelievers
• Sacred Words
• Leader

1. The Creation Story

Every successful organization is a story — a story of the founders, their epic struggles, their “eureka” moment. People are drawn into a powerful story.

2. The Creed

All powerful brands reflect a significant set of core principles or beliefs. These are not only expressions of what you believe, but also what you want others to believe about you.

3. The Icons

“Icons are quick concentrations of meaning that cause your brand identity and brand values to spontaneously resonate.” These may include images (the Apple logo), aromas (Aveda), sounds (“You’ve got mail.”), experiences (Ritz Carlton), colors (UPS brown), shapes (VW bug). Icons can be deliberately built (though you could be creating unintentional icons that communicate a very different message than the one you intend).

4. The Rituals

True believers engage with your brand in passionate rituals. That morning cup of Starbucks coffee. Playing with Legos. Googling. These rituals replace chaos with order for the believer.

5. The Pagans, or Nonbelievers

There are always non-believers. They don’t drink coffee. They use a PC. Does your brand stand in clear contrast to the pagans?

6. The Sacred Words

Whether it’s the special code of text-messaging teens, the incomprehensible language of geeks or surfers or someone ordering a “skinny grande latte half caf half decaf extra hot…” true believers learn sacred words as a sign of belonging.

7. The Leader

Every successful belief system has someone who is the leader, the visionary, the change agent, the revolutionary who creates the sense of community, mission and passion that draws true believers.

Brands that lack the Primal Code also lack popular appeal. Primal Branding explains the elements of the primal code and provides a framework for assessing our own codes. If your goal is to have your organization, product, service, or cause to stand out, then decoding and understanding your own code is a critical first step.

Anyone familiar with the biblical narrative will see all these elements in the scriptures. At InsideWork, our concern is that most businesses led by people who claim to have (or least be working on) a biblical worldview do not rise above parity in terms of brand performance and marketplace impact — most are frankly unremarkable, unappealing and unmemorable. We think that’s tragic and unnecessary. This should never be the case for businesses that seek to demonstrate a biblical worldview and the reality of the Kingdom of God. Primal Branding is a challenge and a tool to help us assess our businesses so they can powerfully live out our beliefs, passion, and redemptive story in the marketplace.

(Patrick Hanlon has been a senior executive in some of the world’s most creative advertising agencies. He is currently the founder and CEO of Thinkopia, Inc., an idea engineering company that generates “Better thoughts through thinking™.”)

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