What’s Your Brand?
The Great Dad, The Nutrition Guru, The Honest and Wise Friend- memorable and easily identifiable personalities like these have achieved a key piece of success; they’ve transformed their personalities into a brand. If you host a TV/Web/Radio program, serve as a spokesperson for a company, are an author and expert in your field, or desire a greater level of recognition in your chosen profession, “branding” yourself can pave the way toward attaining your goals.
Identify your key character building blocks and strategically deploy them throughout your show or presentation. This allows you to connect with your audience and earn their trust and loyalty.
Winning branding begins with a clear message of who you are and what you stand for. The more concise your message, the more memorable it will be. Renowned companies utilize this formula. For example, Campbell’s Soup, Campbell’s is the brand and “Soup” is thecategory. Once a brand becomes a household name, the category designation can be dropped. There is no doubt about the brands of the following personalities and companies: Tony Robbins, Disney, Google, Kellogg’s and Ryan Seacrest.
Just like everyday brands we’ve come to know and trust like Nike and Apple, your “personality brand” can represent you and earn audience loyalty. The more famous someone or something is, the fewer words are needed to identify them. Consider one-name celebrities like Oprah, Beyoncé, Shaq, Sting and Madonna. They require no further introduction.
Brands deliver consistent experiences. This consistency earns the audience’s trust.
In order to set yourself, your product or your company apart from the rest, you must out- innovate your competition and personalize your audience’s experience. Apple builds excitement every year in anticipation of its technological advances and every year its competitors rush to duplicate them. What’s distinctive about Apple? A consistent, quality user experience earns Apple supreme consumer loyalty.
Creating a great brand takes dedication:
The formula for success is quite simple: double your rate of failure.
–Thomas J. Watson, Sr. (founder of IBM)
Building brand recognition, trust and loyalty requires effort and once you’ve achieved it, the trick is to create momentum and consistency.
The average person will tell three people about a positive experience with a brand, but will share a negative experience with thirty-three people!
Personality brands are powerful because your audience identifies with you on a personal level. Your audience or customer has an emotional connection with YOU and through you to your product. Once you’ve earn that gift, you have to maintain integrity with the values that earned you their trust in the first place.
The three rules to becoming a personality brand:
- Make sure your message is focused and easy to remember (just like your storytelling).
- Put in the time and commitment.
- Be authentic and deliver a consistent quality experience to your audience/customers.
By Cliff Dumas
CMA, ACM and Muliple CCMA Award Winner
