Patrick Hanlon
My interview with Pat Hanlon, author of Primal Branding on the role of stories at creating great brands.
Joel Rubinson: You have said that a great brand needs a great creation story. What do you mean by that and why is it so important?
Patrick Hanlon: Actually, what I have said is that great brands have great brand narratives. The ‘creation’ story is critical, because it is the foundation of the brand narrative. Every company was started somewhere by someone who had a great idea that was written on the back of a napkin, on an envelope, they thought they had a better way of doing things. Often these are superhuman stories of great courage—or even wrong-mindedness (Steve Jobs quit college, Bill Gates and Edwin Land dropped out of Harvard). We all know the stories of how eBay started in a spare bedroom, Google started in a dorm room, HP started in a garage, Burt’s Bees in a chicken coop, Phil Knight sold Nikes from the trunk of his car. These humble beginnings not only stir something in the American imagination. They also provide a frame for who you are, and what you stand for. This is critical in today’s world, where Enron, tainted Chinese products and faked identities on the Internet have started everyone wondering “Who are you—no, really?!”.
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