During a casual talk with my husband post dinner, he mentioned about a dissertation topic which he presented during his MBA school days. It was on the subject of 'The Brand - You'. I almost pressured him to tell me more but he just brushed me off saying that it was too long back to even remember. It may not have been such a fresh topic for him, but it still got me interested to pen it down as an inspiring thought for the day.
We had learned way back in school about branding and marketing but still I googled to check if there was any new theory to it. More so, because back then we didn't have Google. What I found was an interesting piece of history which some may already know.
The word “brand” is derived from the Old Norse word brandr, which means “to burn by fire.” ..... recalling the practice of producers burning their mark (or brand) onto their products. In 1876, after the United Kingdom passed the Trade Mark Registration Act, Bass Ale became the first trademarked brand in the world after submitting its now-quintessential red triangle for trademark status. The act gave businesses the ability to register and protect a brand marker so that a similar icon couldn’t be used by any other company. - Source www.brainpickings.org
Initially, branding was adopted to differentiate one person's cattle from another's by means of a distinctive symbol burned into the animal's skin with a hot iron stamp and was subsequently used in business, marketing, and advertising.
Today, we all have affinity for specific brands, especially the one's which evoke either trust, warmth, fun, class, sophistication, strength, dependability, tradition, excellence, style, earthiness, or many such attributes. So everything that we see and which has a potential to be bought or whose services we can use, stands for something unique and special. Unfortunately, only a few are successful over a period of time as they consistently reinforce those qualities and deliver the promise for which they are bought.
Given that there are around 100 brands of bottled water in USA or closer home, the gamut of e-commerce websites that have been been launched, it has become imperative today that each of them elicit a specific and unique quality, attribute or character.
But hey, its not just important for inanimate objects, organizations and their services, countries and their tourism boards to have a brand persona, we too are brands in our own right. Every day and every minute, every action that you do, every word that you say and every thought that you convey has been building the brand - YOU.
We may not be conscious of this fact but by repeatedly expressing in certain ways and behaving in certain manner we have built perceptions in the minds of our stake holders and created our very unique brand personalities. It would be interesting for each of us to dive into our world and do a quick dipstick survey with those who matter, to understand what we stand for in their eyes and is it what we really are deep inside.
If there is no gap between the REAL you and the BRAND you, its good news. You have been a fantastic marketer of brand 'YOU'. But if there is a gap, then definitely there is something which you are not doing correctly. You may need to understand how the REAL you can be represented correctly.
And then there is another set of people who consciously portray what they are really not. You will find these mostly in the political arena. Unfortunately, they don't understand that by doing so, it will surely not help them in the long run and they will soon lose their so-called followers. The biggest and successful brands have survived across many decades only because they were transparent, evoked trust and consistently delivered on their brand promise.
In a nutshell.
As a person, as a brand YOU, its important that:
When you give your word, keep it. (Even if it is to yourself)
If you make a commitment, honor it.
If you take on an obligation, fulfill it.
And doing this consistently is what makes a very powerful, trusted and successful brand 'YOU'.
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