The point of any advertisement is to get a person's attention. When a company does these advertisements they are marketing their brand. For instance, how many of you actually pay attention to the point behind the commerical that I just posted? I, for one, didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it until I started trying to figure out the reasoning behind the commercial. AT&T's brand throughout this advertisement is "Faster is Better," which is put into focus by using the children to get the point across. "What's something that's slow that you wish was fast?" That one question curtailed into humorous answers by the children, but the real point was that we want our phones/internet to be faster. It's a quirky and fun way to get the message across, which is what needs to be done when an organization is advertising their brand.
In a video that I recently watched a man by the name of Morgan Spurlock went around asking people how they would describe their brand. It got me thinking. What is my brand? After some thought I guess I could describe myself as humorous and loyal along with my style being sort of conservative hippie. Do I consider myself a hippie? No, but I do like the clothes, which is why I use it do describe my sense of dress. What can I say...I'm a sucker for the chiffon, flowy skirts and funky patterns. Mr. Spurlock gave two different types of brands; one being an Up Attribute and the other a Down Attribute. The Up Attributes include being playful, fresh, magical/mystical and edgy. On the other side of that is the Down Attribute which includes being mindful, sophisticated, traditional, safe and reliable. These attributes will help you understand what kind of "brand" you are. It is not only big companies and businesses that have a brand. Think of it this way...Stevie Nicks has a brand. Her brand revolves around her wearing black chiffon, moving around on stage like a witch and banging her tambourine. She established this brand 35 years ago and it still is who she is. That is her identity.
Everyone has an identity, a brand. It is what makes people who they are and a business a success or failure. Whether you realize it or not, you are a brand. How would you describe yourself? Have you ever actually thought about it? When you establish a brand, as a person or a company, it is a lot to live up to because once that brand is established it must be kept. For instance, Paula Deen had an established brand. For many people, her brand has been tarnished after the "scandal" that came out a couple of weeks ago. For others, myself included, I feel that she made a mistake 30 years ago and that's all that needs to be said about it. Words for the wise - it doesn't take much for a brand to be torn down, but it will take a long time for it to be rebuilt.
I love how you used the cute AT&T commercial to explain a better concept of what an individual's brand is. I myself, could not really understand what exactly is a personal brand, but after reading your blog I have a much better understanding. I did enjoy Mr. Spurlock's video explaining Up/Down attributes. It made me take a second look at many characters and celebrities in the media and analyze their brand. Now I think after reading your blog, I can determine my very own brand.
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