1,070,000,000 Google results for “Brands” in 0.16 seconds.

490,000,000 Google for “Personal Brand” in 0.22 seconds.

Brands are hot!
Over the past few years the word “BRAND” has become almost as overused as the term “Social Media”… and the growing use of the term “Personal Brand” has developed into an industry in itself.

So as everyone defines their own unique “brand”, it opens up a very interesting debate about what happens when your personal brand meets a big brand?

Understanding what a brand is has never been more important – it affects the outcome of your career and your company.

“The only synonym for brand is culture” states our good friend and mentor Ted Matthews in his best selling and must have book: Brand: It ain’t the logo*. (*It’s what people think of you™)

A brand is either positively affected or negatively affected with every interaction. If a company promises professional and courteous customer service and you experience an undertrained support centre rep with no solutions, then that brand was damaged by that single interaction.

This is why human resources departments in large corporations are constantly searching for people who fit their culture (brand). And potential employees are searching for companies that are in line with their beliefs. People want to work for companies that they love and respect.

The concept of fit between an employee and a corporate brand is instrumental for maintaining and building brand. Personal brands have become key tools for people marketing themselves to potential employers and for HR experts to qualify best likely candidates.

So what really is your personal brand?
Your personal brand is just like a major brand – it is how you’re known, in other words, it’s what people think of you. It’s what you believe in, what you promise and what you do. Your personal brand is what you wear, what you eat, what you read… it’s everything you say and everything you do. It’s “the power of me.”

And just like a major brand, your personal brand is built through every interaction and with ruthless consistency.

To help you or your company get an understanding of what your brand looks and sounds like, we developed the Say What! Brand Personality Worksheet. This simple 10 question worksheet will help you identify your brand elements so that you can develop your own brand story. From that brand story we can start the brandSimplicity process to discover your brand position (how you make a difference) and your brand promise.

The most important part to building a brand is to keep it simple, keep it real and be remarkable – be so great that it’s worth telling others about. Make it a brand you can love and live by, and one that people will remember and respect.

Because it all goes back to Ted’s simple statement “a brand is what people think of you”.

Cheers
grant

Grant Ivens, RGD
brand surgeon | rocket scientist
Say What! Communications Corp.
116A Main St North, Markham, ON, Canada L3P 1X8
T 905.752.3110 grant@saywhat.com

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