Why can some products build an army of loyal consumers with little or no advertising and other brands require an expensive promotional campaign for success? Patrick Hanlon, Founder and CEO of Thinktopia, says true brands are belief systems with perceptible meaning to set them apart from commodity products.

“Too often, we thrust products into the marketplace without imbuing any meaning to them whatsoever,” he says.

Packaging supports a brand’s belief system. At a conference earlier this month called Proof: Market Research and Strategy Development for Package Design, Hanlon outlined factors that brand stewards can follow to make their brands believable.

All belief systems tell a story; create one for your brand.

Belief systems begin with core principles. Packaging is the perfect vehicle for laying out your brand’s creed.

The vitality of a belief system stems from repeated interactions—rituals—between a brand and its believers. In this scenario, packaging becomes a crucial touchpoint.

“Icons” are effective tools for concentrations of meaning that capsulize your brand. They can leap off a package using any of the senses.

Sacred words—special vocabularies with precious meanings—define those who believe in your brand. Packaging presents the perfect billboard for presenting them.

By understanding those who don’t believe in your brand, you get a clear sense of those who do, helping you to build an architecture around your brand.

Designate a leader.

Packaging for Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice and Starbucks coffee both reflect the value of brand as belief system well. “When you start looking at your package as a ritualistic object, it changes your mind-set completely,” Hanlon notes.

Try filling in the blanks on each of these seven factors for your brand, and determine whether the exercise confirms your brand as a belief system.

Jim George