I have just finished a book titled Primal Branding, due out February 2006 from Simon & Schuster.
“Branding” is somewhat of a misnomer, because the book is about how we create belief systems that in turn create communities. Those communities can surround a product or service (like Apple, Nike, UPS), an organization (ie. corporate culture) or a personality like Oprah, Madonna or Martha. They can also surround a social or political cause, like Civil Rights, AIDS, ecology, or a civic community such as New York, Las Vegas or Dubai.
I have identified a pattern that exists in all successful communities, which I call the primal code. Those companies and organizations that have those pieces of code become successful. Those that do not, are not.
Unlike other branding books, Primal Branding is not just descriptive, it is also prescriptive. Primal Branding is a completely new way to operationalize brands, and has been shared with people at Starbucks, American Express, LEGO and elsewhere.
As Al Ries, co-author of the classic marketing book Positioning declares, “it’s not the same old branding B.S.
I’ll keep you posted.