Primal Branding Thinktopia®

MINNEAPOLIS I NEW YORK I BEIJING I EVERYWHERE

HOW TO CREATE BRAND COMMUNITIES:

THE DESIRE TO BELONG IS AT THE CORE OF EVERY HUMAN BEING.

BUT BEFORE YOU CAN BELONG, YOU MUST BELIEVE IN SOMETHING WORTH BELONGING TO.

A BELIEF SYSTEM ATTRACTS OTHERS WHO SHARE YOUR BELIEFS. THIS CREATES COMMUNITY.

THEY ‘LIKE’ YOU AND PREFER YOU ABOVE ALL OTHERS.

THIS SENSE OF ‘BELONGING’ IS CREATED BY A RICHLY RESONANT SURROUND OF 7 ELEMENTS.

THE PRIMAL CODE.

Listed in Top 10, Primal Branding is heralded as “not the same old branding B.S.”.

ALL BELIEF SYSTEMS HAVE SEVEN ELEMENTS FUNDAMENTAL TO CREATING BELIEF. IT IS THE “SYSTEM” THAT CREATES BELIEF.

All belief systems have a story attached. Two guys in a garage building personal computers. Two kids in a college dorm. A pharmacist who created a secret soft drink formula. New York was founded by the Dutch. The creation story is the foundation of the brand narrative, and answers the question, “Where are you from?”.

All belief systems begin with core principles. A mission statement that declares that all men are equal. A belief in life after death. A belief that the state is supreme. A belief in the Red Sox. A belief that you can be “the greatest t-shirt shop in the whole wide world”.

All belief systems create totems that are quick concentrations of meaning and encapsulate who you are. The swoosh. The Stars & Stripes. The cross. The hammer and sickle. Icons are the hand holds of any belief system, and can involve any of the five senses: sight, touch, sound, scent and taste.

Rituals are the repeated interactions between those who believe and your product, or service. Ritual replaces chaos with order. The vitality of a brand community comes from the positive ritual engagements between your brand and your consumer or advocate.

“lol”

All belief systems create special vocabularies that define those who believe. And those who do not. These lexicons have precious meaning. If you don’t “know the words”, you’re not part of the group.

In order to have the yin of believers, there must be the yang of nonbelievers. By knowing who the nonbelievers are, we help to define ourselves. Belief systems commonly define the counter group, then proceed to vilify them (Democrats/Republics, Mac/PC, doves/hawks, PlayStation/Xbox360, Baidu/Google, processed/organic).

All belief systems have a person who believed there was a better way to do things, then transformed the world according to their own point of view.

THIS CONSTRUCT IS WHY WE BELIEVE IN PRODUCTS, IN PEOPLE, IN ORGANIZATIONS, AND IN OURSELVES.

©THINKTOPIA 2012

ONCE YOU CREATE THE BELIEF SYSTEM, YOU ATTRACT OTHERS WHO SHARE YOUR BELIEFS.

©THINKTOPIA 2012

“BRANDS” ARE CONSENSUAL COMMUNITIES THAT PEOPLE DECIDE TO “OPT IN” OR “OPT OUT” OF.

IT’S WHAT BUILDS COMMUNITY.

©THINKTOPIA 2012

THERE ARE (AT LEAST)4 TYPES OF COMMUNITY.

Community.There are communities that surround products and services, called “consumers”.

Community.

©THINKTOPIA 2012

There are communities inside organizations, called “co-workers”.

Community.Community.

©THINKTOPIA 2012

There are communities that follow personality brands, called “fans” (short for “fanatics”).

Community.

©THINKTOPIA 2012

There are communities that follow political and social movements, called “voters” or activists”.

Community.

©THINKTOPIA 2012

There are actual civic communities, called “citizens”.

©THINKTOPIA 2012

HOW DOES THIS CREATE POWERFUL BRANDS?

® Registered trademark of Apple Corp

Creation story: Former HP employees Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak start building personal computers in a garage

Creed: Think different. No idiots allowed.

Icons: Apple logo, iPod, iPhone, iTunes, Steve Jobs, Apple store, Genius Bar, Steve Jobs.

Rituals: Apple “S”, iChat, downloading, searching via Safari, buying music on iTunes, loading pictures in iPhoto, etc. No ‘focus groups’. Intense iterative product design. Confabs with Steve.

Sacred words: “Apple”, “iPod”, “iPhone”, “iMac”, “iCal”, “iTunes”, “iPhoto”. “No dummies.”

Nonbelievers: PCs

Leader: Steve Jobs

Lady Gaga

Creation story: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta began performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side. Her debut album, The Fame, was released on August 19, 2008. Its first two singles, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" became international number-one hits. The album earned six Grammy Award nominations.. By the end of 2009, Lady Gaga released her second studio album The Fame Monster, with the global chart-topping lead single "Bad Romance", and embarked on her second headlining tour of the year, The Monster Ball Tour.

Creed: individuality (I Was Born This Way)

Icons: her looks, her clothing, her music

Rituals: her concerts, photo shoots, appearances

Sacred words: “Lady Gaga”, “little monsters”, song lyrics

Nonbelievers: people who prefer Doris Day/Madonna, et al.

Leader: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

United States of America

Creation story: Discovered by Christopher Columbus. Settled by Pilgrims. Declared independence in 1776

Creed: Freedom for all. Independence. (Capitalism)

Icons: American flag, White House, Statue of Liberty, Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the President

Rituals: voting, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, MLK Day, parades

Sacred words: “We the people”, “freedom”, “liberty”, “equality”

Nonbelievers: Fascists, communists, Al Quaida

Leader(s): Barack Obama, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, et al.

Civil Rights Movement

Creation story: Rosa Parks sat at the front of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama

Creed: all men are created equal

Icons: picket signs, songs, photos of snarling police dogs, Rosa Parks

Rituals: speeches, marches, nonviolent demonstrations, registering to vote

Sacred words: “I have a Dream”, “We shall overcome”

Nonbelievers: racists, people who thought that change was not possible

Leader(s): Rev. Martin Luther King & others

©THINKTOPIA 2012

WE COULD ALSO SUGGEST THAT THE FOUNDATION OF OUR SOCIETY IS BASED UPON THE NOTION THAT TWO PEOPLE“BELIEVE IN” EACH OTHER SO STRONGLYTHAT THEY ARE WILLING TO SPEND THE REST OF THEIR LIVES TOGETHER. HOW DOES THAT WORK?

Romantic love

Creation story: “How did you guys meet?”

Creed: I love you.

Icons: rings, flowers, chocolates, cards

Rituals: dating, going steady, engagement, marriage, Valentine’s Day

Sacred words: “I love you”, “honey”, etc.

Nonbelievers: single people, old boyfriends, old girlfriends, ex-spouses

Leaders: both of you

BELONGING

BRAND=

BELIEF=

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY

BELONGING ISAT THE CENTER OF

WE ALL WANT TO

BE A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.

PREFERENCEBELONGING=

7.It is the combination of all seven pieces of primal code working together that creates the belief that forms the community of people who not only believe but belong. This is what leading communities have accomplished through great gut instinct, having smart leaders, and through luck, timing and determination.

NOT JUST DESCRIPTIVE, BUT PRESCRIPTIVE.

TO CREATE COMMUNITY, YOU MUST CREATE A NARRATIVE FOR PEOPLE TO BELIEVE IN AND WANT TO BECOME A PART OF.

THE PRIMAL CODE CREATES A STRATEGIC BRAND NARRATIVE THAT BUILDS BELIEF.

PRODUCTS & SERVICESTRANSIT FROM BEING MEANINGLESS TO BECOMINGING MEANINGFUL.

FROM “WHO CARES?”TO “I CARE!”

THE RESULT IS A STICKY BRAND POWERED BY A COMMUNITY OF STAUNCHADVOCATES WHO TINGLEWITH EVERY BRAND BREATH THEY TAKE.

IT BECOMES MORE “NIKE”THAN “SHOE”.

strikeanerve@thinktopia.com

THINKTOPIA® IS AN AWARD-WINNING STRATEGIC INNOVATION FIRM DEDICATED TO CREATING COMMUNITIES AROUND BRANDS.

THINKTOPIA® HAS CONDUCTED BUSINESS ON EVERY CONTINENT ON THE PLANET, EXCEPT ANTARCTICA. (WHICH GIVES US OUR STRETCH GOAL.)

MINNEAPOLIS I NEW YORK I BEIJING I EVERYWHERE

Primal Branding Thinktopia®

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