Brand Fitness

Branding is no longer only for celebrities. Now in order to be seen and heard above the din and to reach the right target audiences, everyone must build a brand identity. Having a good professional reputation is obviously connected to establishing one’s brand identity, but many people don't think strategically about how best to nurture this identity. Individuals have a need to build brand equity in their own names more than any company. Companies come and go through natural attrition or acquisition and merger, but an individual’s professional name stays with them from the cradle to the grave. No matter what company a person is with or what company a person will join in the future, individuals will always take their names and their reputations with them. Your brand is carefully crafted over time. It does not happen by accident. Your brand is the world’s perception of who you are. The world’s perception of who you are may differ from the reality of who you are. What we are dealing with is reality and perception. Perception is now the new reality. And it must be managed.

Brand Fitness

Brand fitness requires the same level of focused discipline as physical fitness and it must be exercised on a regular schedule. No exceptions. Choose a single unique brand identity that truly describes who you are and what you do. Assess who you are and then name three core attributes that distinguish you from your competitors. Core attributes can easily encompass your background, your experience, your personality traits and your management style. Identify the three things about yourself that if, for any reason, they were ever taken away from you, you would no longer be who you are. Core attributes are the building blocks of your brand. For example, Jean-Claude Steinberg is the CEO of a luxury goods company that focuses on women’s accessories and handbags. First, he is French by birth and nationality, and graduated from one of the leading French business schools, École Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen. Second, Jean-Claude has a strong background in managing companies that produce mass-market brands in food. Third, his management style can be described as consultative, which leads him to rely on the trusted advice of key people in his company. Jean-Claude brings his knowledge and expertise of mass-market brands to the luxury arena. Whether he is leading a conglomerate that sells yogurt or he is leading a 5th generation Italian luxury company that sells $3,500 handbags, he has a proven track record for slashing costs and increasing revenue. No matter what company Jean-Claude is running, his three core attributes remain a constant and define his brand identity.

Build your Brand Muscle

Distinguish yourself from your competitors. Choose precise visual identifiers. Visual identifiers speak volumes about who you are and how you do business. For example, I know a world-class designer who always wears bow ties. His bow tie is highly symbolic of his formal nature, his courtly charm, and the long, thoughtful process he takes to create extraordinary design work for luxury brands. I am aware of a commercial real estate agent who works in midtown Manhattan. To define her core personality she relied on her past service in the Israeli army. To differentiate herself from other brokers, she wore her army boots to her business meetings and become utterly unforgettable while she successfully built her business. Her army boots are not a gimmick. Gimmicks are not appropriate to establish brand. Instead these boots were the outward symbol of this woman’s courage, strength and discipline. If you want to do commercial real estate in New York, you need to demonstrate power. Take Jean-Claude Steinberg: his visual identifier is his class ring from the French business school École Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen. If you use visual identifiers to demonstrate your brand persona, send the right symbolic message that clearly shows the key components of who you are. Be Clever. Be Strong. Be Clear.

The Brand Fitness Test

Does the world believe that Jean-Claude Steinberg is an excellent leader who has a consistent track record for increasing a company’s bottom line? Or is there a gap in the way the world perceives Jean-Claude Steinberg as a brand? Is there the suggestion in the media or in the boardroom that Jean-Claude is not fully effective at running a luxury goods company because his background is in mass-market food? Is there the suggestion that Jean-Claude is an autocratic leader who has only feigned the art of listening well? Now here is the test: Is the world’s perception of who you are in alignment with how you want to be perceived? What will you do to bring the perception of who you are into alignment with how you want to be perceived?

Create your Brand Promise

You cannot be physically fit and ignore the integration of healthy habits or regular exercise or proper nutrition; the same is true for Marketing & PR. You need to implement a strategic program that integrates Marketing & PR to build lasting brand equity in your own name. Set the bar to define how you wish to be perceived. Draft a brand pledge that explains how you will serve your colleagues, employees and clients. Find the right words that express exactly what you can do. This is not the time to be lovable and confusing or slow. Be realistic and direct about what you can do. Assess the language that you use to define your brand promise, fine-tune it with the precision of a wordsmith, and keep it brief.

Fully Execute your Brand Promise.

Is your word good? Your brand promise is your messaging platform-- your commitment to exercise your brand. Everything that you say, or that you don’t say, should consistently live up to the standard that you have set forth in your brand promise. Create a story so powerful that it will tell itself. Use the finest examples of the results that you have produced for your company, your colleagues or your clients. Show poignant testimonials and case studies. Give credit to your company, your colleagues and your clients. If you give them credit, they will tell your story for you. Remember Jean-Claude Steinberg? His colleagues have noted that the door to his office is always open. He frequently consults with employees of all ranks to ask for their opinions on various aspects of the company. Jean-Claude is widely hailed to having a no-nonsense pragmatic approach to problem solving, and he is known to be an excellent listener.

Utilize Media to Exercise your Brand.There is no greater credibility than getting authentic news coverage. Utilize every facet of media. There is more media than ever and these media outlets range from the equivalent of 3lb dumbbells to the bench press. You can write for many media outlets and blogs, or get them to cover you or your business. Outreach to the media is a discipline that should be done as regularly as any exercise regime.

Brand Muscle Always Has Memory

Maybe you haven’t worked-out in awhile and your brand is looking dull and soft. Or maybe you have been doing the same routine for so long that your body has adjusted and you are no longer getting the same results. You may need to ratchet-up the intensity of your workouts or cross train with a new regimen. Take a look at the competitive landscape. How well does your brand resonate in the current economic or political climate? What is going on in your community-of-interest that has a direct impact on your business? Know your target audiences. Connect with your audiences. This does not mean that you dilute the integrity of your brand persona and become someone else. It does mean that you must adjust your messaging so your audience gets what you are talking about. It does mean that you must refine your message so that it speaks directly to what your audience needs. And keep in mind that those needs are constantly changing.

Brand fitness is an ongoing pursuit that requires constant adjustment and realignment. Whether you are the CEO of a European luxury goods company or the founder of a small startup company, developing brand equity in your own name is essential for success and will ultimately enhance your value financially, professionally, emotionally and spiritually. Ultimately, brands are about people making personal emotional connections from one person to another. We come to know and experience people through the stories that they tell or the stories that are told about them. With the right dose of regular exercise, you can build awareness for your own brand that is compelling, memorable and valuable.