Why do certain companies mean something to us, while others don’t? The answer is a pattern: a code that runs attracts us at the most basic level of human motivation and persuasion.

In today’s show we’re talking about the seven pieces of “primal code” that attract consumers to products and services, personalities, social movements, even civic communities. This fresh new approach is creating vibrant new brand communities all over the world.

With me today is Patrick Hanlon. He’s the author of Primal Branding and founder and CEO of Thinktopia, an idea engineering firm based in Minneapolis, New York and Beijing.

The book is a fundamental read. It is not so much a roadmap as to how to create a primal brand, but a menu of the ingredients that make brands strong at their core. The more primal elements you have, and their relative degree of strength, the more powerful brand you have.

Some of my favorite areas of the book cover issues like a creation story, why alienating people is not so bad, and how these primal elements link directly to your company's culture. Be sure to listen for tips of things you can do today to begin to build (or rebuild) your primal brand.

-- David Kinard