Adding brand magic to our lives

“Branding is part of our lives and has become a critical part of business today. The concept of branding has been attributed to Procter and Gamble, two men who decided to differentiate their homecare products with a name, distinctive fragrance and packaging so that people could ask for it by name. This was about 165 years ago,” explains Greg Fisher, senior lecturer at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), speaking at a recent forum ‘Brand You – Building your personal brand'.

“Of course, now the whole issue of branding has moved into a far more emotive space, and the characteristics of a strong brand include arousing emotion, igniting passion, creating meaning for people and echoing reliability – giving a consistent experience time and again. Think of the passion that the Ferrari brand evokes in hundreds of thousands of supporters around the world who would probably never have the opportunity to sit behind the wheel of one of these cars!” he continued.

Everyone is subjected to between 3000 and 6000 branding messages each day in the modern marketplace and branding extends beyond mere products to include things like countries and cities. But it also drills down to individuals. Think of Nelson Mandela and Oprah Winfrey, two of the most powerful brands on earth. While not everyone can become an icon in their own lifetime, each person has an individual brand that they should nurture and grow according to their goals and personality.

“An individual's worth today has transformed from being valuable to one organisation through just understanding the business policies and processes of that single organisation to one of employability in the open market where people change jobs regularly.

Personal brand

“To establish one's own personal brand, the first step would be to do some introspection. Ask questions such as ‘What do I want my brand to reflect?' This is related to personal vision and what you'd like to be remembered for. It's important to have one's eye on the target,” explained Fisher.

An action plan follows in personal brand development. Fisher said that there are six strategies which are helpful in developing a strong personal brand. The first is purpose, which is very individual. Fisher gave the example of Apple, which has a vision of creating cool products for the home, easy to use and fun. Everything it does is driven by this vision.

Gary Hamel says: ‘Create a cause, not a business', because everyone needs something to believe in.

“It's important to connect to something meaningful to yourself,” said Fisher.

Passion

Next is passion, which translates to energy and enthusiasm, the fire and emotions that drive one. “Find something you love to do, that has meaning for you on a personal level.”

The third strategy is planning, putting a process in place to get to where you want to be. “This will help you decide how you spend your time. Everyone has the same amount of this limited resource and a proper plan will help you decide what to do and what not do.”

Michael Dell said, “It is easy to decide what you are going to do. The hard thing is to decide what you are not going to do.”

An equally important aspect of building ‘brand you' is the creation of a network of relationships in a market that increasingly depends on connections between people.

“And fifth, find a way to play and enjoy your life. Don't worry about the past, make the most of your time and have fun!” he advised.

Perseverance

The final strategy for building a successful brand is perseverance when the going gets tough. “Keep your eye on your vision, believe in yourself and don't worry about swimming upstream, just keep going.”

Fisher gave the example of Richard Branson, who, when he launched Virgin Airlines and he was under severe pressure because the oil price rose suddenly and the slow travel season arrived, but he persisted and came through the crisis.

“Building a personal brand helps individuals stand out in a crowd and is well worth the time and investment to differentiate oneself in a crowded marketplace. There are lessons to be learnt from the greats such as Virgin and Madiba, but it's up to us to design our own path,” concluded Fisher.