Customer Reviews

Primal Branding

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Formula: author looks at successful examples of branding and back-engineers to tell you why they were successful.
I can tell you 30 books that do this (I read them all.)
This book presents, instead, a coherent theory that projects to future cases, and thus is worth imitating. Nothing wrong with stealing someone's theory if you've bought his book.
In this case, you can actually take what the author lays out and apply it your business whether is a chain of funeral parlors or amazon.com.

Primal Branding goes much deeper than most books on branding. It is not just about logos and tag lines but about the seven crucial components which must be present to creating a brand that connects.

The seven attributes are the creation story, the creed, icons, rituals, sacred words, pagans (the opposite or those opposed to the brand) and leaders. Primal branding is not about "building a church, but creating a religion."

"Primal Branding has broken down the elements that help people feel better about a brand." All marketers are searching for ways to stand out from the crowd, to get attention, to connect. Hanlon has given us the blueprint to do just that. But as he says, "If all we needed were a recipe, everyone would be a great chef." He gives us the blueprint, but there is still the need to create the story, to make sure it resonates with everyone, the employees, the vendors and the customers. Branding is still part science, part art and a good deal of luck.

The book is well written, easy to read and filled with many examples of very successful brands - from coca-cola to lego to U2. Hanlon goes behind the scenes to uncover what made the brands successful. He gives great insight into the things we must do to make our own brands successful.

While we have the essential steps to brand our products or services, we still need to bring the emotional connection into the process. That of course is where the art and luck comes in.

If you are responsible for marketing your services, you really need to read this book.

This is no "me, too" marketing book. "Primal Branding" understands and develops its theories on branding from a truly unique new perspective. The author explores how successful brands put a real value behind their companies and their products, making them matter in meaningful ways.

Stripped of the cynical, manipulative message of so many books on the marketing shelf, this is real anthropology - getting down into the roots of our general humanity, figuring out why we do or don't identify with bits of our complex surroundings. This book is clear, concise, moving, and in the end deeply enlightening.

From the discovery of "Lucy" to LegoLand, the author invites us to dig with him through a treasure chest of anecdotes, insights and looks at the "primal codes" to which we all answer. The emotional content of a business transaction - what draws us in, or what alienates us - is at the heart of all commerce, because it's at the heart of all life.

Mr. Hanlon has written a fun-to-read book that is not just about branding or marketing. It's about how societies work - how we know who we are - and the uses and perils of primal identity.

I have spent quite a bit of time lately explaining to our clients the importance of story telling. Create a great story, and you will be able to create great zealots for your brand. That is the essence of this book. As the author states early on, "The creation story is the crucial first step in providing answers to why people should care about you, or your product or service."

The book, like many other books on branding, reiterates a lot of common sense theories that cause the reader to say, "Well of course, that makes sense." That's okay! It is worth being reminded once in awhile why the basics work. That being said, this book does utilize current brand examples that help prove the theories correct. This is a book that I would recommend if you were looking for a good basic book on branding in theory and practice. It's worth the money.

Branding isn't that easy, so I feel that anyone trying to boil it down to seven ways to nirvana is a bit simplistic. But Hanlon's seven elements of primal branding make a ton a sense. The emphasis on the creation story is a helpful reminder that brands derive strength from people knowing where they come from and why they exist. While I think it could have made these points in fewer pages, I would definitely recommend this book

Length:: 3:16 Mins

Wondering how to build your brand for your business? If you are searching for a history of successful companies, large and small, then Primal Branding delivers an insider's perspective. Author Patrick Hanlon, an avid journalist, spent years penetrating the barriers surrounding marketing secrets of thriving businesses.

I am a pre-published author seeking to establish myself in the thriller genre as a professional with both a vision and a quality product. Primal Branding provided a series of steps to guide me through this process.

Here are the seven components to the Primal Code, plus one sentence I learned about each.

Creation Story - each brand must tell the story of their beginnings. It must answer the question, "Where do you come from?" Example: the "about" section of a company)
The Creed - this is the spine which supports the whole brand. This should project the vision of what you want the company to become. Example: the tagline for a company)
The Icons - these are the images or sensory products that are instantly identified with your brand. They should be recognizable and distinct enough to leave an impression on the consumer. Examples: logos, themes, and products)
The Rituals - the interactions that your consumer has with your company and products. The goal is to maximize the number of positive occurrences your customer has with your company. Example: online shopping or browsing)
The Pagans - these are the opponents to what defines your company. It's as important to identify your "unbelievers" as it is to define who you are. Example: Pepsi Cola versus Aquafina.)
The Sacred Words - the specialized jargon that only the insiders know. Every belief system has its own informal dictionary to distinguish itself from outsiders. Example: Techie Talk)
The Leader - who or what the mascot is for the brand. This does not necessarily need to be a physical person, but it could also be an ideology or trademark face. (Example: Betty Crocker)

I did find this book to be a bit more of a history lesson than an instructional manual to brand yourself. Still, I would highly recommend it to other authors and entrepreneurs eager to set themselves apart in the crowded marketplace.

In this brief book, you can learn the seven key factors to a unique identity. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a high-profile executive, arrange all seven to form a solid base to launch and grow your brand.

While the concepts in this book are nothing new, the author uses tribal elements to create an interesting analogy to explain the basic components of effective branding. The most valuable aspect of the book are the numerous examples, not all of them from the world of business, that help readers to easily grasp and internalize the most important branding concepts.

As a relatively new member of the marketing profession, I've been reading a lot of books to help me grasp marketing concepts and techniques. Of those, this has been the most unique. The main concept I took away from this particular tome is that more than one factor comes into play when you're establishing a brand image. Everything--from the logo to the buzz words--associates your product and brand in a consumer's mind.

I really enjoyed reading about the various ways companies came into being, the way various entrepreneurs were interviewed. One story I found particularly fascinating was that of the founders of "Fast Company."

Overall, this was a worthwhile read, but don't expect to come away with an outlined set of steps to follow to cause your brand to "pop." Rather, you'll find a set of guidelines that you can use toward creating your own primal brand.

I am a former advertising executive and have extensive experience helping clients build and manage their brands. The clarity and insight that Patrick Hanlon brings to the often misunderstood and mysterious process of branding resonates with sheer brilliance and wisdom.

What this book started me thinking about was the power that branding has not just on the outside of the organization, but on the inside. And it isn't just the artifacts of the brand, it is also the process of building or re-constructing the brand that seems to hold some transformational energy for both the consumer and the company if fully engaged. Hanlon takes you through the seven critical aspects of the brand in his book "Primal Branding" and hammers home the idea of building trust and generating preference.

The primal branding concept is a great framework well beyond the immediate marketing communication implications. It really is relevant at the individual, team and organizational levels. Hanlon shows how brands are alive, dynamic and evolving relationships that must be nurtured and maintained.

Kudos to Patrick Hanlon for writing this great book!

-BH

This is one of those rare business books that delivers far beyond a restatement of old theory or advocating a personal belief. This book takes a subject that can seem cerebral or intangible and puts it into a language and coherent model that anyone can understand and implement. It is one of those books that both has you nodding "yes, yes, yes" as it makes absolute sense and saying "yes!" I can follow this and change my business. In fact, it is so clear, I think it can be used outside business just as effectively as well. I recommend it to everyone I talk to (except my competitors!).