idea engineers

Thinktopia® is a collective of idea engineers who work (with clients) to birth ideas that are fresh, startling and activated for success. We are creative problem solvers in merchandising, new media, new business development, strategy, environmental design, advertising and public relations.

We examine markets, create new products, design media agnostic communication schemes and provide fresh thinking at all points of contact. Our mission: to revelate. We believe that vibrant brands are living creatures. They constantly celebrate newness, brilliance and creed. Stale brands are stagnant. They have rules, dictums and reverberate with lost meaning.

Our task is to constantly engage and re-engage consumers with enthusiasm. We provide insights, tools, strategies & materials to engage new and existing markets. We revel in brightening your brand, examining your competition and using nunchucks on them.

Pat Hanlon Patrick Hanlon

Founder and CEO of Thinktopia, Inc., Hanlon has been a marketing practitioner for over 20 years. His book Primal Branding: Create Zealots For Your Brand, Your Company And Your Future was named “Best Read 2006”. The book has been translated into Chinese and Korean and has been included as marketing curriculum at progressive universities including Berkeley and Johns Hopkins.

He has been a guest speaker at the HP Brand Innovation Series, IDEO, Brandworks University, GlobalShop 2007, Institute for International Research, Polaroid, Toro Corporation, Best Buy, Young & Rubicam, the American Marketing Association, the Direct Marketing Association Leadership Council, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, the University of Minnesota’s Strategic Branding Program, Parsons School of Design, Syracuse University, American Advertising Federation, Asociacion de Ejecutivos De Ventas y Mercadeo and more.

He has been quoted in Fast Company, Business Week Online, Entrepreneur, Inc. magazine, and elsewhere. And he has been a guest writer in Adweek and Advertising Age.

As a senior executive at advertising agencies like TBWA, Hal Riney & Partners, Lowe & Partners and Ogilvy, Hanlon worked on famous brands like Absolut, John Deere, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, UPS, LEGO, Unilever and IBM. His work is included in Absolut Book and has been featured in The One Show, Communication Arts, Archive, and other leading publications. His 2003 Super Bowl spot for H&R Block with Willie Nelson was a Top 10 spot in consumer polls. He has been a judge for the Clios and The Kelly Awards as well as other award shows. He wrote the introduction to How To Succeed In Advertising When All You Have Is Talent.

Susan Cantor Susan Cantor

Most people would find it remarkable that a 37-year old rose to the rank of CEO of the flagship office of a major worldwide advertising network. Others would find it even more remarkable that she chose to leave that post.

But Susan Cantor isn’t just another thirty-something. After serving for two years as President and CEO for Lowe New York, the agency of record for clients like GMC Trucks, Milk, Johnson & Johnson and Unilever, Susan decided it was time to carve her own path. “Working at an international agency poses terrific challenges,” says Cantor, who Crain’s New York Business named as one of its “40 Under 40” stars. “But it’s nothing like the thrill of building something new and different.”

Cantor joined Thinktopia in April 2006. “As marketers we are always looking for ways to build communities around our brands, as a partner in Thinktopia I am now single-mindedly focused on doing just that.”

At Lowe, Susan played an integral role on the team that repositioned the GMC Truck line, which earned her the Women’s Automotive Association’s “Spirit of Leadership” award in 2004. Today, GMC’s “Professional Grade” positioning is still selling trucks at record numbers, and is the most coveted position in the Light Truck category. Cantor also played an active part in the agency new business team, and helped land the coveted Macy’s business in 2003, the retailer’s first-ever cohesive advertising program.

Susan began her career at Griffin Bacal, where she worked on Hasbro. She then moved to Ammirati & Puris, where she supervised the Burger King account. Ammirati merged with Lowe & Partners Worldwide in 1999. Susan lives in New York City with her husband and three daughters.