At a recent meeting of a nonprofit board I serve on, we were talking about “who” our organization is: our product, our service and whether those are unique enough to fill a need in our community. In short, our brand.
That made me think. What is my brand? And am I an ambassador for that brand? Or a saboteur?
David Ogilvy’s definition of a brand is the intangible sum of a product’s attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation and the way it’s advertised.
Strong brands—Target, Disney, Nike–instantly convey what they stand for, and they never waver.
I think I stand for connection, conversation, collaboration, community–relationships–with myself, my families (blood relatives and not), my friends, my coworkers, my clients.
And I ask myself: Do I walk the talk? Am I living my brand? Is my brand authentic, real? Is my brand a contributor to what is wanted and needed? Is it committed, no matter what? Is it responsible at its source? Is it intentional? Are my messages and actions consistent, reliable?
Do you live your brand? Consider promises made, promises broken. Are you inconsistent, inauthentic, lacking commitment? Are you losing faith in yourself, your abilities? Can your friends and family count on you? Or are they looking for a change? Looking for someone to inspire, to lead, to be loyal to his or her brand? Seems to me all this talk about change is really about returning to who we are.
Are you the ambassador or saboteur of your brand?
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Karen, I like your explanation of brand. I think it’s an especially good one for freelancers. We have only ourselves to rely on, so you’ve given me a timely reminder about the importance of being careful to keep not only all the tangible messages in line, but to make sure they’re supported by the intangibles: especially belief in self during these tough economic times. Thank you!
Thank you for this entry, I think it is particularly applicable today as more and more people are looking for work and trying to develop their personal brand for potential employers. Some of it goes back to being able to pitch a 30 second elevator pitch, but I believe that it’s really about your personal mission statement and values.
As PR professionals, social media is one way we can work to develop our brand. There’s an excellent list of 100 personal branding tactics at this Web site: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/100-personal-branding-tactics-using-social-media/ that I found helpful.
Thank you again,
Sarah
There’s much said these days about “personal brand,” but nothing more succinct than your post. What’s interesting to me, however, is how we are thinking about our image. Not too long ago we called it character, now it’s “personal brand.” I wonder which is more apt?