October 19, 2009
Personal branding is no longer the celebrity culture embellishment it once was associated as. It’s more than “Foreman Grills” and “Body by Jake” (I have both actually). It has become a fundamental necessity of any successful business. If your company does not articulate its brand message clearly and consistently within its given space, it is certain to die the slow death of irrelevance. However, even the systematic, and clear dissemination of your company brand/message is not enough to distinguish yourself in a given consumer space. Why? Because everybody already does that! Sure, every blue moon a McDonalds will change it’s slogan, Pepsi will change the look of its can (a recent design debauchery if I might add) but overall companies launch with a singular message, and then beat you over the head with it until you buy it or decide you didn’t want it after all. So then what do you need to brand yourself in a distinguishable way?
As an Entrepreneur, consider it this way for a moment:
Joe Entrepreneur is the CEO and President of “Joe Inc.” Joe Inc. has spent many a night in his horrifically loathsome basement for the last 2 years developing a revolutionary new slinky. Let’s just say this slinky can go UP the stairs! Joe is thrilled, both with the slinky and to be out of the basement. He knows the Internet is the most effective and explosive means of getting exposure for his magnum opus, but he’s a little unsure of how to go about publicizing his ingenious feat. This is where the difference between brand Publicity and PR come into play.
Publicity is easy. Anyone can either pay or entice, various media outlets to run a story, throw up a banner, write a review. If any of these are positive (which in the case of a stair-climbing slinky has got to be a given) they will definitely help increase awareness. But does awareness translate into sales? Everyone knows about AOL still, but how many new users does it really have?
Now on the other hand “PR” is about the strategic crafting of the your brand’s STORY. It’s the artistry of how you evaluate, and ultimately compose, the consumer’s interaction with your product. Its interaction with your design, price point, functionality and relevance. Ultimately it is simply storytelling. This is what makes your company, your product, even You, worth discussion.
The acute concentration of these detailed elements is the formation of your branded message. Whether it be the color palette on your blog, the font size, the packaging or the music. Each element is a branch, the roots your product, the growth of the tree, well that’s determined on how well you can water the details with the sweat of innovation.
Be different, be yourself.
Best,
Don't be stingy, share with your friends!
Posted: October 19, 2009
Filed under: Jays' Letters
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Hello, and thank you for your article. Oh yes, I do understand very well the important message of branding.
As you mybee know, I am a Norwegian citizen, living in Trondheim, and started with ccpro 3 weeks ago. I feel very exited about joining ccpro and it’s structure.
The lucky part is that I join the Norwegian Team – Per Gunnar Hoem – Hasse Andre Johnsgaard – Ketil Rekve and moore. We had this seminare in Oslo this weekend and it was a huge experiance listen to your phonecall with Per Gunnar.
I feel very lucky about joining this amazing Team and ccpro. I have signed up for M1 and my goal is meeting you soon in person.
Thank you so much for your incredible Marketing System and “back – office” system.
Best regards,
Ole Jarl Kvammen.
Hi, Jay.
I think this applies to how I would dress myself up – use of make-up, appropriate outfit, scent, mindset, and lastly a smile, in order for people to notice me. You exude something mysterious…the joy shows on your face.
The “it” factor still applies so that people just know that there’s something about you that’s different…that you’re a cut above the rest…and that they would desire to have the same thing.
I’m reminded of that scene in a movie where the couple was in a restaurant and he started whimpering until she reached an ecstatic climactic phase and the lady at the other table said…” I’ll have whatever she’s having!” ha-ha-ha!!
Does that make sense?
In the face of the strength of the system you have built and the name you have affixed to it, it’s refreshing for a beginner to hear this. I am just a week and a half old with the company and my “first” landing page should be operational this week. Thank you for reminding us to be, at the heart of it, our unique and innovative selves. Laurie M.
Jay,
Thank you for your leadership and commitment to excellence. The guidance which you offer is greatly appreciated.
As a new member of the CCPro family I want to let you and the rest of the staff know that your continued dedication to our success does not go unnoticed. In my short time here you and the rest of the crew have empowered me to achieve greatness.
As I continue my march upward with purpose and passion I look forward to meeting you in Las Vegas and hopefully working with you for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Mitchell Dillman
Good morning Jay,
Very briefely thank you for youe wise comments suport and leadership. You write inteligently and succinctly. Awonderful example to follow.
We will never give up in ouir quest to reach our goals and look forward to the day we meet.
Our best regaeds,
Robert & Janet Thumm
I am so exicited about CCPro that sometimes it’s difficult to sleep. I am new to the net and therefore (as my mentor explains) I am continually “suffering.” I’m stuck in Wordpress ( my widgets page is malfunctioning. My domain name shows up double in my browser. I don’t know how to get help for this. The jargon, the terminology seems to have been written for geeks; certainly not for newbies. I will not relent. I will not quit ! I feel as though I’m walking in pitch darkness praying that a glimmer of light will manifest. Building a website (blog) even with Wordpress, is no small task for someone who just 6 weeks ago could barely compose an e-mail. However, I’ve made a committment to CCPro. It’s my only hope. My dream is to make enough money to move to the Philipines, become an M3 Master Consultant, mentor struggling souls to duplicate me, and paint (www.yessy.com/cwcookart) until my my last dying breath (ala Picasso). Thanks ! Chris Cook
Hi Jay,
I use this venue to contact you because I read with interest this article about branding. I have subscribed to BiB in September and recomended the site to my friends in Germany (I am living in Australia). Just to be sure I clicked on the German translation of the landing page and what I saw was not what I liked to see. The translation is incomplete and a lot of the sentences do not make any sense. Who translated this? It can not be a program because so many things are just not translated at all.
I used to be a German Teacher for 20 years and have a lot of teacher friends. If you need any help with translating I could make time available for changing the text into proper German. It is so important that the first impression is right, so I think it is a wise decision to invest into having the pages translated into the different languages the way it has to be.
Thank you for yourtime and I am looking foreward to hearing from you.
Christine Lindner
Alright guys,
I’ve just got back home from the whirl-wind week long WMI and CCPro live events and I’ll tell ya right now things have changed!
I had the chance to meet many of you and rub shoulders with some of the top producers and I feel honored and empowered…
Thanks again Jay and Aaron for this killer system you’ve designed and the dedication you have to each of us and our personal success.
Now it’s my turn to take this bull by the horns and kick some Internet a$$! I intend on taking names and perpetuating this already powerful community into the history books…
No offense guys (Gregg, Andrew, Michael, Aaron, etc,) I know you’ve got a head start on me but I intend on knocking you off that stage, I may be thinking big but isn’t that how you got there?
Anyway, It’s time to get busy and put my money where my mouth is. Don’t worry, I’ll make you proud, we’ll see you guys at the top!
Thanks for paving the way.
Sincerely,
Mitchell Dillman