Our generation is a weird and wonderful one. We obsess about how we express ourselves. We have a name for that; “branding”. I wonder how the idea of thinking of ourselves as brands took root. Seriously? I suppose those of old had their version of “branding”.
“Brand” simply put: the way people or organizations project themselves on the basis on of how they want to be perceived. Sounds rather vain. We obsess about how people see us.
I guess everyone wants to be perceived in some light. Their version of the best them. Unless you’re blinded by your own ego, you know you have flaws. I have many. Somehow we think we’re the only flawed ones.
We see everything right with others. Other people, brands (whatever that is) and organizations are perfect. We’re the ones with issues. Right? Wrong.
On the other extreme is the inner me that sometimes thinks he has it all figured out and everybody else doesn’t. I know better. In many ways with the Internet and a million ways and platforms to publish, we portray ourselves as having it all together.
Though one of the reasons I blog is for the “notes-to-self”, I’m at the risk of projecting “the sage”. Yet I’ve learned enough to know that I don’t know much.
Could “branding” be a label we’ve developed for “how we want others to see us” and not who we really are? [Click to Tweet]
What if the best brand you and your enterprise could be is yourself. Your flaws exposed. I’m not talking about exposing your flaws as in “feel sorry for me or our enterprise” but not putting make up on them.
What if we showed people who we are; that we have aspirations. That we have a picture of who we want to be. What if we just took that and shared it with everyone and used the energy saved from showing what we are not, to move us closer to our goals?
Liberating: no need to remember how we projected ourselves and keeping up appearances.
Organizations wouldn’t need to lie to keep clients or share prices up. Transparency breeds trust. Honesty and transparency, unlike lies and deception, endear trust and loyalty.
What if we all aspired for a simple ‘brand strategy’: TRUTH?
Related:
Boldly Be; A Secret To Brand Loyalty
Product: Brand Reputation Lines Of Offence And Defence
More Than Logo; Understanding And Translating Your Brand
Brand Integrity; A Secret To Brand Loyalty