Primalbranding

January 2, 2006
Positing that "a brand is a belief system," Hanlon, founder and CEO of "primal branding" company Thinktopia, throws a reverse spin on the 12-step addiction recovery program to trumpet his 7 steps (called "key factors") to inspire consumer addiction. His formula has vaguely mythic qualities: successful brands, he argues, come with a creation story, a creed, rituals, icons, sacred words, non-believers and a leader who's overcome stiff opposition. The similarities to religion (Hanlon prefers "culture of belief") will pique the thoughtful reader, but Hanlon's recounting of familiar business success stories (UPS's story, Lou Gerstner's turnaround of IBM) seems at odds with a book blurbed as "not the same old branding B.S." Though much of the book is the simple recasting of age-old branding tenets (Hanlon's "creed" is interchangeable with "slogan"; "icon" with "logo"), Hanlon's energetic case for thinking differently about common practices makes for a rousing read.