Part 3: Primal Branding & Music

Part 3 of a 3 part interview for Hypebot by guest blogger Kyle Bylin. Read Part 1 and Part 2.

Patrick Hanlon is the founder and CEO of Thinktopia and author of the hardcover and audio book Primal Branding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future.

Q: Within the Hypebot community, there is a vast array of personalities who inhabit the messy environment of the music industry. Are there any lessons learned or valuable insights that stuck with you over the years you'd like to share?

Hanlon: What we call Primal Branding is really a rallying cry against doing anything by rote. Yes, we have a “system” which could become rote in its own way—but at its core, we are about gaining a deep-skin understanding of how we respond as individuals and as a society to certain inputs in our lives. The primal code is really a constellation of parts that—when put together—seem to satisfy us in intangible yet very important ways. So many people try to create their own success by imitating the success of others. They got a hit song by playing a three-chord progression, so I better learn that progression too. They got a hit by using a drum machine and samples, so I will too. That’s just mimicry and imitation. Sure, some people will make hits. But the big changes—the ones that knock us off our feet, are when someone creates a sound that’s totally fresh, new—something that electrifies.

Q: There seems to be a very special and intimate connection that exists between artists and their followers that don't seem to exist on a brand or product level. How or why is that?

Hanlon: Sure, screaming fans at Shea Stadium. Sound is one of our senses wired to special places in our brain. Certain songs connect us back to places and times that is very sensorial. Smell is another sense that connects to times and places. The smell of diesel fumes (don’t ask why) takes me back to Europe. There’s probably a whole teenage hormonal thing, too, because music is tied to youth culture. Successful music groups really fire on all cylinders.

There’s that stage where people really love the music. (In our terms the music would be iconic: a music hook is an icon.) And then suddenly there’s this crush of popular appeal—that’s when some fans whine that the group has suddenly gone pop or mainstream. But that’s really the period when the other pieces of primal code become filled in. If you’re in the band, that’s when you hit success—at least at (hopefully) the popular or financial level. Music is extremely visceral, because it is tied into so many other emotions and time frames.

But to say that this is not true for other products is just not the case. Certainly, we don’t have people smashed against fence wire waiting for the new Starbucks drink. But people have traveled long distances to purchase certain automobiles, beer and blue jeans, the same way people follow John Mayer, Justin Timberlake and Nas. A few weeks ago I was in Soho in New York City, and there were people lined up around the block waiting to buy iPhones. A few blocks away, they were standing in another line waiting for concert tickets. Fans are fanatics. Try to take away a 15-year-old’s iPod. You’ll lose your hand.

Q: The Leader plays a pivotal role in making their Primal Brand come alive for their followers. What are some great examples of leaders you've seen in the music industry?

Hanlon: Barry Gordy at Motown, Clarence Avant at Motown, The Fifth Beatle, Bono, Michael Stipe,John Lennon, David Geffen.