April 14, 2006

I was wandering around the blogosphere the other day, and came across a post called "You as Brand" that really rang true to me.  Lynann Bradbury is a Sr. VP over at Waggener Edstrom, and someone I met last year at the Blog Business Summit in San Francisco.  I've enjoyed reading her blog about "Personal leadership & the changing communications model."  In this particular post, she wrote:

"Each one of us is a brand. Start with your name. Add your values, combine those with your personal style and the way people experience you, mix it with the promises you make and uphold, and presto - you've got a brand."

She follows with some questions leaders should ask themselves about personal brand attributes you define yourself vs. those being defined by others.  And, she ended with sage advice:

"The kicker is to consciously live the answers, so that you're living and projecting an authentic self...."

Amen. 

That prompted me to think more about something that's been rolling around in my head for a long time, and I may have blogged about it before. 

Your word is your brand.

In so many ways, every thing you say (as Lynann points out perfectly above) defines you.  Every word you write and every nuance, defines you. 

For example, I got mad this week when, at the end of a long day, I got an e-mail that made me very mad.  As a result, I hit the forward button and SCREAMED at a colleague.  I never do that (really!).  But at that point I was so mad I actually put the caps lock on and physically pounded on the keyboard as I flamed to him.  This story may seem a non-sequitur, but I was not being authentic to my brand when I yelled in e-mail. 

Did it make me feel better?  Maybe, at the time.  But you know what?  He did the sensible thing.  He picked up the phone and called me.  To talk.  Of course, he had to hear me vent on the phone for a good four or five minutes before we could actually come up with a plan to fix what had made me so mad.  Bless his patient heart.  His brand rose significantly in my book.  Who knows what kind of damage mine took in his?

And in hindsight, it's pretty funny (to me, at least) that what ticked me off - enough to be inauthentic to my personal brand - was a fairly innocent violation of Marqui's brand.

A brand isn't a color or a logo.  It's your (and your company's) word.  It's the reaction you evoke every time you interact with someone - whether you're at home, among friends or at work.  A brand is all about emotions and feelings.

In this brave new world of Marketing 2.0 - where crowds are talking to crowds in very public places (like a blog or an e-mail thread), all we can do is hope that we each behave authentically and with integrity to our personal and company's brand.

Posted by at April 14, 2006

Comments

Amanda email - amanda.prblogs.org

Interesting post Janet. Our personal brand is something that often times many people forget when they are in school or in the workplace. As a senior graduating in May, the notion of myself as a brand really hit home. Now is the time that I should be "developing" my product. How do I want to position myself in the minds of potential employers? What makes me stand out above all of the other PR graduates? First, I've got to make a good impression with my resume, cover letter and any writing samples I submit. I want each of these to be professional, well-written and mistake-free. Secondly, I've got to "wow" them in my interview (if I'm lucky enough to get an interview.) It can be something as small as how I dress or shake hands, or something like my verbal communication skills.

I also agree that your brand is developed by how you act and react. No day will be the PERFECT day where everything goes just as you expected. It is how you handle the failures that can help improve your "brand" more than how you handle the successes. I want my brand to be the kind that everyone recognizes as professional and one with integrity.

Amy email -

That is a very interesting way of looking at ourselves. I like it! Many times we are very concerned and, for some people, obsessed with the image of the product or client that we are trying to sell. We will do anything short of violating good ethics to shed a good light on them. But we forget that we, ourselves, are in a sense a product. We have to make sure that our image, or brand, is just as pristine as the one we are trying to sell. Thinking about things this way has definitely made me more aware of how I present myself at all times. You never know when someone is planning on switching brands.

sherri email - bumpesc.prblog.org

I must say that I enjoyed that post. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to read it. It really made me think. I love how you put “your word is your brand.” This is an interesting comparison.

This entry of yours made me think of myself and the impression I leave upon others. It’s quite similar to actual product brands. You can be a faithful consumer at a particular restaurant. Then one day you get a hair in your food and you never go back again. A million apologies and free food couldn’t change your mind over a mistake.

That’s the same with people. You don’t want to act in a way that someone you trust may view as unforgivable. It’s so easy to get caught up in a moment and lose the person you know you are. You have to learn to stay true to yourself, even in moments that seem impossible. No one wants to lose a friendship or relationship over a sudden act outside of your usual character.

Brands put in effort to maintain and improve their product image. It’s a constant effort. Therefore, I guess it’s necessary for us, as people, to put in that extra effort at times as well.

The problem is that you must think fast. Once a product brand makes a mistake it must redeem itself quickly in order to maybe be forgiven. And at this moment I am re-thinking a previous action and thinking of making a phone call to apologize. Maybe it’s not too late to restore my brand’s image.

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