Branding, its a Personal Thing

Companies spend alot of time focusing on their brand image. And, rightly so. Without a good focus on how the market perceives the organization – and its ability to fulfill the brand promise, things can quickly go astray. There is a fair amount of science behind brand equity and level setting the organization on where it should make changes to meet the customer promise-land.

But, personal brand is a different story. I have been noodling on personal brands over the past few days after the election. Looking at President Obama and Mitt Romney, I had to wonder – did brand win out? Was the Obama brand promise a more fulfilling and proven brand? Did the Romney brand have a disconnect? Naturally, if you ask hard-core Democrats, they will speak to the Change Obama has brought, indirectly speaking to his brand equity. He ran on Change four years ago, and he HAS made some changes.

At the same time, if you ask hard-core Republicans about Mitt Romney, they will speak to the Republican platform – but will they speak to his brand promise? Was there a disconnect between Mitt’s words and promises and what the voters thought would happen? Or, did his brand promise match his brand equity. Clearly there was some sort of brand failure.

If you look at personal brands in other sectors – the common denominator is truly consistency. Jennifer Anniston has the “nice girl” brand. And, guess what? All reports indicate that after 20 years in the spotlight, she is still a nice girl. George Soros has an impeccable personal brand. After 30+ years in the markets, this is a man of continued integrity and vision.  George Clooney has a brand of wit, smarts, social-conscience, and sometimes good acting (btw, George, if you’re single…).  He has carefully crafted his brand over the years, and its known around the world.

We get confused when personal brands get all jumbled up. When comics become serious actors. When politicians commit unspeakable acts. When sports heroes are caught doping. At this point, we feel the need to analyze, figure out where we went wrong in believing in the brand. We, as people, want the brand to be real. We want that promise to be fulfilled. We look for brand saviors and cherish them all day long.  Personal brand successes are rare, though.  We tend to be too fickle and inconsistent.  But, that’s what also makes it so interesting.

I need to figure out my brand. If you have any ideas, pass them on.   I’m very much in the brand inconsistency phase of my life, and that’s not going to cut it anymore!