WHO NEEDS A HUMBLE BRAND?

"The King of Pop" Michael Jackson

"We're Number Two. We Try Harder." Avis

"It's the real thing" Coca-Cola

"The Greatest Show on Earth" Barnum and Bailey Circus

"The World's Favourite Airline" British Airways

"The ultimate driving machine" BMW

"The best a man can get" Gillette

The above examples are some of the most popular brands in the world both personal and otherwise. It is not difficult to notice the common thread that runs through all of them; none is ‘humble’. A humble brand is one which believes that it is equal to others and does not possess any distinguishing quality which will compel its target market to choose it above others competing for their attention. The problem is, ‘humble’ brands do not last! And if they do, they are usually practically on life support.

The thinking of the average person is to get the very best service or product. We must assume that most people are not clairvoyant and given this fact, they must have things spelt out for them. Recall the popular saying; if you don’t say I am, no one will say thou art? In other words, you must blow your own trumpet. It must also be acknowledged that some brands hardly advertise and depend on word of mouth but then in order to generate that word of mouth, they must provide experiences as well as various innuendos to the fact that they are the best.

The deluge of media adverts which assail people every minute gives them little time to digest and make decisions. A brand owes itself the duty to stake its claim by proclaiming its unique qualities or superiority. Can you imagine Michael Jackson being just another pop musician? Doesn’t get anyone’s groove on. Or Coca-Cola being just another cola drink. Not tempting. Consider a BMW which is not different from other four wheels on the road. Definitely dis-motivational!

The other common denominator amongst the above listed brands is that they have a tradition. Michael Jackson has been at it since he was a little kid; Coca-Cola seems to have been around forever while most guys grew up with Gillette. It is imperative to develop a unique quality and draw attention to it. There’s no point being humble and losing out on making a favourable impression with prospects/clients/customers. Just remember that they want to deal with the best. However, don’t just say you’re the best, prove it!

Put some magic in your brand!

                         ......Olatunji Ladi Adejumo

STRIKING THE RIGHT CORD

Have you ever told someone that he or she is God sent? Chances are you got assistance from that person when you were in a tight spot and had little space to manoeuvre. It happens and not just to you but many other people. We are all pretty vulnerable at one time or the other; and that time should be like the advert spot just before national news to a serious personal brand. In other words, that specific time is the best to act. That’s like striking the iron while it’s hot.

Customers or clients do not always realise that they have a need and a lot of times, have to be told specifically that they need something or the other. Now, that’s not always as easy as it sounds because resistance is a fact of life. The remedy of course is to ensure that the person is in some kind of twilight zone which lowers the defences and gives you the opportunity to convince the person.

You must make your customers/clients vulnerable first before stating your case and this can only happen if you use emotion. Hitting their emotional nerve is crucial in making an impression. Consider the case of Coca-Cola. If you ask the average teenager how long coke has been in existence, chances are the teenager will think Noah stowed some away in his great ark and you can’t blame that person! Coke has succeeded in consistently touching the emotional spot in people’s lives to the extent that they have changed the date stamp in their minds, shifting it a couple of centuries back!

What kind of impression is your personal brand creating? Is it striking the right emotional chord or just twanging away on a discordant string? You need to play the emotional tune to their souls and get them to see, feel or hear just how they can get relief from engaging you. Now, you just got through to them!

                                   

                                             Put some magic in  your brand!

                        ......Olatunji Ladi Adejumo

IS PERSONAL BRANDING ARROGANT?

“Son go, your sins are forgiven thee”. In a society where the forgiveness of sins was a tedious process presided over by the self-righteous Pharisees, that was the height of arrogance! The question in their minds and on their lips was “who is this man to utter such words?” Jesus Christ made no pretences about the matter; He is superior to others.

Any brand which cannot claim superiority to others which are competing with it is doomed. Simple! The very essence of branding lies in differentiation; the ability to prove to people that it has something to offer which others cannot or do not. Does this mean that every brand must be ‘superior’? There may not be a straight-cut answer to this question but take the example of the car rental brand; AVIS. It is definitely not the first and faced an uphill task convincing people that it is better than the dominant brand in that market; HERTZ. It adopted an unusual strategy which admitted that it was not the first but represented that fact to mean that they were prepared to work harder to get and maintain the customer. Their tagline reads: “We’re Number two. We try harder”. I call that arrogance dressed in humble garb!

The word ‘arrogance’ usually connotes something negative but then one of its synonyms is the word ‘superior’. It is very important to note however that what people usually term arrogance is the ability to do effortlessly that which competitors are struggling to do. A footballer who converts half chances to goals with annoying ease and walks away like it was just a casual pass is seen as arrogant as is a professor who analyses a knotty issue with irritating simplicity or even a lawyer who characteristically presents superior logic in arguing a case. It is of course incumbent upon a brand to ensure that such perceptions are mitigated by avoiding a condescending (incidentally another synonym) attitude.

To answer the question posed by the title; Yes, an element of arrogance is inherent in personal branding.

                                             Put some magic in your brand!

                         ......Olatunji Ladi Adejumo