THE BRAND CALLED “ME”
THE BRAND CALLED “ME”
Wednesday, 15 February 2006 05:46
The human being is an interesting animal. Despite all attempts at socialization we remain an inherently selfish race. Even our socialization process is quite often no more than building up socially acceptable charades to make us simply fit in. Fit in to what?” I ask. “Follow whose rule book?” These questions have never quite been answered satisfactorily and so we continue to blindly be “socialized” and be dissuaded from our very natures without knowing why we do it and who we please by doing it! As marketers we may argue that we are a slightly different “breed” capable of using human nature to benefit our brands or actually influencing that nature towards our brands. Tom Peters who kicked off the personal branding trend back in 1997 once wrote, “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are the CEOs of or own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called Me”.
It is with this in mind that I concede to being a selfish being and delve into about what is most dear to you and me, ourselves: the brand called “me”. The word is such music to our ears that it is no wonder that in many a Kenyan’s sentence structure it shall be used to utter grammatically disastrous yet egotistically caressing sentences like “me I am not selfish….”
So what about the brand called “me?” It may appear a bit odd to refer to ourselves as brands though after pledging our loyalty to the various brands we promote and swear by, in the final analysis the most important brand of all is the one we each call “me”. It may perhaps not be a very conscious and thought out path of personal brand building that we each pursue but just spare a thought for the brand called “me” and it will become obvious that we each indeed are building that brand.
“Personal branding is distasteful for being blatantly ambitious, sneaky and superficial. Worse, it s surely bad for business… The more you focus on Me Inc., the less you are likely to be focusing on the job in hand,” wrote the Financial Times.
So what is a brand and how does “me’ become a brand? A brand according to Colin Bates, founder of Building Brands Ltd can be referred to as “a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer and all other stakeholders. If properly managed these perceptions secure long-term revenue for the business and create lasting value”.
The complexity of a ‘brand’ can be broken down into the six levels of meaning according to Philip Kottler, regarded by many as the world’s leading authority in marketing. These six levels can be used to further elaborate on the brand called “me”.
Attributes: every successful brand represents certain attributes e.g. BMW has come to represent superior automobile engineering, luxury and affluence. What do you want to represent? What are you strong points? What can you actually deliver as a brand? Renowned Kenyan orator P. Lumumba brings eloquence to the table while J. J. Kamotho is a champion of the quick sarcastic retort. Benefits: every attribute of a brand must be translated into a perceived benefit for the consumer. The expensive can for example give the emotional benefit of uplifting one’s perceived social status. As a brand, do your attributes translate into a perceived benefit? Your sharp dressing may be seen as a benefit if it is perceived that you inspire confidence by looking successful and by extension perhaps intelligent.
Perhaps your eloquence gives the benefit of making you appear to know what you are talking about (even though at times you may be wide off the mark!) Values: the company behind a brand tries to express some values through its products and services and these can be seen through interaction with the brand. Ken Cell for example strives to express quality, value and service. What values does your personal brand seek to portray? Is your personal brand portraying values not consistent with you aspirations? Give it a thought. Culture: believe it or not, regardless of how one carries himself/herself, they actually still have a culture. Culture is simply a way of life and to lack a way of life is to lack life or in other words, to be dead! Certain elements of ones way of life lend themselves to the way they are viewed as a brand. Certain brands position themselves such that they are able to represent entire cultures – the Malcolm X brand represents a defiant angry black American (Negro) culture for example. It is difficult to divorce Malcolm X from the militant culture he came to represent.
The brand David Beckham (whose talents are surpassed by a host of other footballers) is somehow able to represent the ultimate sports idol. Exactly how? That can be the subject of an entire book! Personality: this may arguable be the most significant level of meaning for any brand as people seem to associate with what their various personalities can relate to. Depending on where you want to go the personality you choose to wear may be a critical factor. Do you want to portray a carefree personality? Then may be your brand does not wish to take up any position of responsibility. Do you want to put on a serious façade? Then perhaps your personal brand is not geared towards entertaining or showmanship. Can you picture UN Secretary General Koffi Annan wowing a crow as he belts out his latest hip-hop single? Probably not. User: While the good old man called Kottler uses the term “user” it is a bit difficult for me to employ the same term when referring to personal brands.
A more politically friendly term would probably be “audience”. As a brand your audience is key. Different audiences receive the same message in very different ways. Then again as a brand, association is important. What is your brand associated with or whom is your brand associated with? Certain associations can prop up a brand while others will only serve to sink the ship. If Grammy award winning Jamaican dancehall artist Sean Paul walked into Muthaiga Club he would probably be branded a “hooligan chanting unintelligible gibberish” while at the Carnivore grounds where he recently launched his African tour he reigned supreme! It is all about suiting the targeted audience and what you appear to see is what you get!
In conclusion, depending on the desired place you wish to have the brand called Me reside in the hearts and minds of your audience the various levels of complexity need to be addressed and crafted to communicate a consistent message. For the brand called “Me”, planning is vital since in this case it cannot be overstated that “failing to plan is indeed planning to fail”. While going about this it is important to remember that the whole branding game is about managing perception and continuously delivering on the promises of that perception. What you appear to see is actually what you get. As you go about championing the brand you represent, do spare a thought for the brand called Me for whom you are the undisputed CEO!
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . This article was first published in SOKONI magazine
