The Self As a Brand
Seth Godin suggests that brands represent an ideal, not necessarily any tangible goods or services provided by the brand:
The great brands of our time are not about what they are. They are about what they represent.
What happens when a brand is a person (i.e. Sarah Palin) and not a thing (i.e. Apple Computers)? Is this a demoting of the person’s humanity? Or is it a brilliant move to realize the truth of all marketing–it all centers around someone? More from Seth:
Apple, Sarah Palin, Harley Davidson, Tom’s Shoes… In each case, the reality of the product means far less than what the brand represents.
The facts of iPod battery life, knowledge of world affairs, gas mileage and foot comfort are almost irrelevant. What matters is the Jungian rush these brands connote, their ability to allow us to identify ourselves and fellow tribe members, the sense of belonging and labeling and the journey we’re on (or not, our choice).
Great brands represent something bigger than themselves. You can create this accidentally if you’re lucky, but you can create it on purpose if you try.
When you buy an iPod, you must know that you are buying a design straight from the brain of Steve Jobs. Sure, others have contributed to the product, but the bottom line is this: No Steve Jobs = no iPod. The iPod, before it is an Apple product, is a product from the personal brand of Steve Jobs.
What Are the Consequences?
Are people who market themselves as a brand simply more honest? More savvy? We all market ourselves somehow. Think about it:
- The clothes you wear.
- The car you drive.
- The food you eat.
- The books you read.
- The job you have.
They all say something about you–it conveys an essence of who you are to the people around you. In short, a brand.
Gary Vaynerchuck suggests something similar to Godin. From his latest release Crush It! (affiliate link):
Monetizing a personal brand is not a new concept. A lot of the most successful entertainment figures in the world are personal brand geniuses, like Oprah, Howard Stern, and Emeril. They built their empires out of being who they are and never backing down from it.
Do you see any potential problems with marketing yourself as brand? I love what Gary writes about in Crush (if you’re at all entrepreneurially minded, it’s a must-read), but I’m still wrapping my mind around the “self as a brand”. How does that work and what are the consequences–both positive and negative.
Personally, I’m wrestling with this concept. After reading both Godin and Vaynerchuck, I realized that the BeDeviant “brand” is largely an extension of my own personality. This realization left me with the question, “Is this okay? If so, why? If not, why not?”
Where do you see this concept at work in the world around you?
I think naturally we brand ourselves. In the sense that we want people to have an opinion of who we are. here is where I start to struggle with this…blogging. A lot of people think they know who you (justin) are. Mainly because they read your blog and follow you on twitter. But in all reality you are putting the best you in front of us, you are giving us what you want us to know. It is difficult because we only know the five minutes of you version.
I have had people tell me that I am different in person then I am online. I had no clue. I thought I was the same person. I do think we are building a brand, a personal brand. But we have to be careful to not let that define who we are. It is very difficult to be truly authentic and transparent online and let people know who we are. I call this surface level authenticity. I do not think there is anything wrong with this, unless we start putting complete trust and faith in the online world and go away from what it looks like in person.
I know these are all rambles, hope you can decipher it all.
I try to be as real as I can be, and yet people still find me different in person then online. Tough to be the same person behind a computer screen and in front of someone.
I heard some good advice about self-branding and a big potential downfall of it. Think of 2 very popular Vegas acts: Blue Man Group and Siegfried and Roy. When Roy got attacked by the tiger, their show was done because they branded their show with the Siegfried and Roy brand.
Alternatively, if someone in the Blue Man Group was attacked by a pack of wild chihuahuas, for example, and couldn't perform, the show would go on as usual because there is no one person that makes that brand what it is.
If the Siegried and Roy show was called “Two Men and a Tiger” it would not matter who the two men were, just as no one knows who the Blue Men are. In the case of Siegried and Roy, their self-branding turned out to be a disaster. This is just one example, but worth thinking about.
Buddy … LOVE that. That is gold.
I happen to think that concepts/movements are on-going and personalities end. Personal branding has a lot to do with personal motive. What do we hope to achieve?
There is an aspect of “self-branding” that is an idea stemmed from Alexander's conquest to conquer the world through the greek language by allowing greek language to promote and carry the greek philosophy of “man is the measure of all things.” Words can be more conquering than swords Alexander thought. This helped elevated the individual above the community on a very large scale… and destroyed a lot of other Hebrew cultural tendencies that were good and maybe why God chose that people group…IDK. Consequently this lust of self and its subconscious anxious identity crisis seems to be what stubbornly stands between us and the collective formation of healthy community everyone is desiring.
I think we get this…sort of. If Jesus were here, I'd hope be branded as “one who has been with Jesus”…I mean how can I out-shine God? It's just, as Christians, we get put in an awkwared position as both image bearers and image tarnishers of God. God have mercy on us and help us all learn what it means to be both uniquely me and branded with Christ.
I think, as you mentioned, we all brand ourselves in many ways. For instance, I am partial to the premium denim brand, Diesel. By wearing these overly expensive jeans, I am making a statement, whether on purpose or not. More intentionally, profile pictures assist in personal brand. I just read an article today that discussed the benefits of certain profile pictures for different social media platforms.
The self is certainly a brand in our culture, in this generation. And our projects or causes, as you mentioned about bedeviant.com, are an extension of our personal brand.
This is something to continually assess, as we tend to think we are pretty impressive as our personal brand gains traction. Self-promotion, even if on behalf of a worthy cause, can do damage to our soul.
It is a close line
i went through this same thought-process this year. I walked away with 2 conclusions:
1-my brands are nothing without me…i make the brands…so i needed a @jim_gray…
2-…maybe there isn't a 2 at the moment….
Ha! Tell me when you find number two. . . .
Ha! Tell me when you find number two. . . .