The Balanced Brand
The Balanced Brand
What's a balanced brand? This post will answer that question. But first, let's start with what's not a balanced brand.
You Can Have an Off Day. Your Brand Can't.
In "Are You Creating a Unified Brand?," Chief Branding Officer at Outspoken Media says, "Brand disconnects hurt you because they weaken who you are in the eyes of your customer. It forces them to question your honesty and your authenticity." Barone cites Conan's "whiny" 60 Minutes appearance and Ellen's required (?) on-air apology to "Mr. Macintosh" as brand disconnects.
I'll add Boeing's recent misstep to the list.
Let's focus on Conan for a moment (read Barone's piece for full context).
My comment on the post (lightly edited):
The thrust is that Conan is playing the pity card. I didn’t watch enough Conan to have any affinity for him, but those who love him did rally. I remember his fans standing for hours on end in the pouring rain fighting for him. They wore special Conan support bracelets.They’re paying good money now to see him on this tour. They’ve fought with their feet and dollars.
I think if Conan’s still needing some tender loving care he'd do well to stay home with his wife (who seems, in the interview, incredibly supportive of her sour-faced husband). Get back on his feet before going out into the public eye. The trouble with personal brands and creating a “unified presence online and offline” is our online brand can sustain itself while we sleep. It can be going 24 hours – through our logo, our bios, our brand statements, our blog posts and other creative endeavors.
Our bodies need rest. Our minds crave stillness.
If there’s a disconnect between your “personal brand” and your self, it’s that. You need rest, your brand doesn't.
In Conan’s case, he’s triggered left and right in the interview. He appears exhausted and moody. Even his makeup looks packed on. Watch his facial expressions as he speaks. It’s not just what he says that shows his exhaustion, in my opinion. It’s the whole package. The brand Conan takes a hit because the man Conan is, or at least appears to be in the 60 Minutes interview, needing self-care.
Humans need R&R. Brands don't.
Humans have complex needs. Humans need sleep to be productive. Humans have off days. Humans miss appointments and forget their lines.
To find and maintain balance, humans need nourishment of all sorts. Humans have needs.
Brands can be balanced with far fewer elements in place. Brands don't need to eat, sleep and poop. Brands, in order to be balanced, need to be:
1. easy to grasp
2. easy to share
3. easy to love
Grasp Can you understand what the brand is in 140 characters on Twitter? It's easy to grasp.
Share Can you retweet it? Can you explain it in an email to a friend? It's easy to share.
Love When you see or touch the product or service behind the brand, does your heart rate speed up? Would you happily intern at the company behind the brand (even if it meant no pay, loads of work and little recognition?) It's easy to love.
The key in branding is to achieve all three, all at once. To have a brand that people get, share and evangelize about is tough work. "You send me rolls of toilet paper even as I sit on the toilet? I think I grasp, can share and maybe even a little bit love you."
That's a balanced brand in the making.
Balanced Brands Are Hard Work to Maintain
Creating a balanced brand isn't easy work. In the same way being a balanced human is hard work, creating a balanced brand is a balancing act. Apple's recent coverage with the new iPhone and the Ellen spot prove the brand lost some of its sheen (momentarily, and only with its most devout followers) from a brand perspective. It'll be forgotten quickly.
(Unlike Toyota's brand upset. They are investing billions to try to make you forget. I'd argue Toyota's brand is out of balance right now.)
The Devil (and Delight) is in the Disparities
In 2007 I wrote "Can You Brand Yourself? The Devil's in the Disparities:"
There will of course be disparities between the person you present to the world online or at conferences and the person your family and friends see. I think we should aim for as much consistency as possible. In much the same way we would hope have a similar experience drinking a bottle of Lindeman's Bin 40 Merlot on two separate occasions, we'd hope to have some consistency in our personality both online and off-. But part of the fun is getting to know the slivers of difference between what's presented and what's "authentic" about another. And can you even figure that out about yourself?
You have to use different tactics to sustain consistency in the brand you're creating. You can't be on all the time, you're not built for 24/7 consistency the way a brand you create must be.
Nevertheless, a balanced brand is one that's easy to grasp, share and love.
If you're moody and miserable, do as Conan should consider doing: Take a nap. Step away from the digital device. The brand will be there when you're re-centered, once you've discovered balance.
What brands do you think display the three qualities of balance (easy to grasp, share and love)?
Further must-reads on personal branding:
10 Ways to Create a Balanced (Personal) Brand
Looking Hot is Part of Your Brand
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Do you have a balanced brand? Find out. I now offer one-on-one Social Web Illumination Sessions and am teaching the upcoming May 22 Reach Yr Peeps course in Boulder.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Reader Comments (10)
Gwen, this is just exactly the piece I needed to read right now. I can't say that I'm "branded", but I've been thinking a lot lately about how I can be more myself on my blog and through my photography (and when the two come together). It's so much more engaging when we as readers or consumers recognize the genuine-ness in something. Thank you for being here to offer just the right resource.
I'm with you on all points - one major challenge, for those of us who work for another (person, company, etc) is to differentiate is how to manage your authentic personal brand against that of your employer.
If you're lucky (as I am - I work for a company that ROCKS) your personal brand can play nicely with your company's.
If you've got lots of work/play life overlap, and you're a big fan of what you do to bring in the paychecks, it's easy to be you all the time. If you're less fortunate and don't love what you do or for whom you do it, the person I meet for drinks might be completely different from the one I meet in the board room.
I truly believe that regardless of your love for your current employ (or yourself) you should steer clear of doing keg-stands on Facebook, swearing on Twitter, or talking about your sex life pretty much anywhere online.
Unless, of course, that is your brand.
Thanks for (as always) putting most excellent information out there for the world.
You hit the nail on the head when you described a balanced brand as easy to grasp, share and love. I'd add that brands that are personal have a unique edge in terms of hitting at a person's heart. I've seen that over & over working with Weight Watchers. Simply because of the nature of the service it provides - for those whose lives get changed - they are walking billboards and evangelists for the company.
Developing a close bond with a brand also seems to happen at certain moments in life - particularly in that first year when a new mom is trying to navigate parenthood. You asked me about Pampers specifically, and I'd say that many moms experience a loyalty and devotion to their favorite diaper brand that is hard to describe... perhaps because it helps us in such a primal way since we wrap our infants and babies several times a day in this protective covering. It'll be particularly interesting to see how Pampers weathers the latest storm with their Dry Max diapers - a solution that was unpopular with many moms, and that is now being accused of causing rashes.
This is getting long-winded but just one last point. I appreciate what you said about people needing R&R. It's one of the biggest challenges of building a personal brand - there are now people expecting you to deliver, and sometimes, you just can't. It's particularly challenging in the online space when your site is your brand, and your site changes or evolves.
Here are a few brands that I think have found a nice yin + yang balance: Barnes and Noble, JCrew, Michelle Obama, Virgin Airlines, Oprah and Target. As far as mom-specific brands: Lamaze, Chicco, Pampers, Medela and Dr. Brown's.
I've been thinking a lot about my brand lately, and this post has definitely added to the discussion in my brain. I'm a new solopreneur and am learning to balance the freedom of doing my own thing with the professionalism of treating clients as my employers.
Now I'm thinking that "work me" and "play me" don't have to be that different; certain aspects of myself just show themselves more at different times. Love the wine metaphor!
Kylie interestingly, I find with photographers that a focus often allows that brand to tease itself out. Wedding photographers don't have it easy (they still have to distinguish themselves from all those in the field) but at least on their business cards they can say: "Wedding Photographer" rather than simply "Photographer." Perhaps your focus is capturing the "isness" of a person.
What would you say the brand is if it had to live without you starting today? How would you sum up what you offer in 140?
Start there.
Gwen,
I'm at a point where I'm trying to figure out what my brand is -- I currently have one-third of one brand and two-thirds of another, and pieces of even one brand aren't particularly useful. Pieces of two makes for clutter. Your thoughts help me frame the goal, though I still have quite a bit of work to do.
Thanks!
Gwen, I love how beautifully you've simplified this topic -- I don't think I've ever thought about branding in such a straightforward way. As you've alluded to here, I, too, have seen some people become so wholly obsessed with their brand that they become like Conan (in their own way): fatigued, scarcely engaged. Like the balance and mindfulness that you so often discuss, so branding must also balance transparency + the LIFE of the brand. (Well...a metaphoric life -- since it doesn't eat, sleep or poop!)
I'm still trying to figure out what my brand means. Yes, I'm readily (um, all too readily) identified as Caligater. People remember it easily and (I hope!) love it -- but I'm still figuring out what I'm sharing. I'm just sharing ME. But I still am not specific in what that is. Certainly what you've shared here (and all the great links you've pointed us to) is helping me to think about it. Thank you!
Gwen, thanks for this post! I have been so incredibly excited this week about the 48 Mag project (@48hrmag) - so thrilling to see creative people from my hometown (SF) take an idea from conception to fruition in a couple of weeks. Reading your post, it occurred to me that not only would you dig it, but it seems to fit perfectly with the 3-part balanced brand idea: easy to grasp, share and love! These things make me happy. :)
Laura Thanks for the note. Reminds me of NaNoWriMo - but with a much shorter deadline! I also have some editor friends in the magazine industry that will love to see this. Thanks for shooting it over - SF is home of some of the best brands known to mankind.
Not an overstatement.
I love the post, and I think you're right on - but as a Conan fan, I have to come to his defense (sort of). I don't think that Conan was inconsistent in the interview at all. The thing that I love about Conan is that he's real, very self-depreciating, and that his humor can be very, very dry. It's part of his appeal for me, but I think it's also why a lot of people don't 'get' him. I loved his interview, I thought it was a mix of authenticity, class in the face of some questions that were begging him to trash Leno and NBC and the awesome, dry, hilarious Conan humor that I love. The exhausted look is textbook Conan. To me, it was 100% on-brand, and I loved every second of it.
I think your reaction and the reactions of others is where Conan fails the 'balanced brand' - he's hard to understand, and hard to share. I'm not sure what to do with that, though - if he was any other way, he wouldn't be Conan. The awkwardness is a huge part of his shtick, and he's just the kind of guy most people have to watch for a while to fall in love with. But love, he's got that in spades. He's easy to love, but hard to get and hard to share, and that's where his brand is weaker than it could be.