Have any of you noticed all the talk about “branding” yourself? About making yourself into some type of human product to promote? It’s the latest talk.
I’ll let wikipedia explain:
Personal branding is the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands. It has been noted that while previous self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging. Further defined as the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual; this includes but is not limited to the body, clothing, appearance and knowledge contained within, leading to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable. The term is thought to have been first used and discussed in an 1997 article by Tom Peters.
Personal branding often involves the application of one’s name to various products. For example, celebrity real-estate mogul Donald Trump uses his last name extensively on his buildings and on the products he endorses (e.g., Trump Steaks).
This concept has mass-appeal for independent artists like me. And synonymous strategies are everywhere. I recently read a songwriting book that said “singer/songwriter” types must find their own unique sound, so that whenever their song is played on the radio, people immediately recognize it as “so & so’s” voice.
The same goes for creating the packaging of a website, music, logo, t-shirt, album cover, photos, etc. – all pointing towards the same image or message about the artist.
I’ve been thinking about all this. Thinking about how I can best present myself and my work. About what my “image” is as an artist. About what my signature sound is. About the album artwork for my upcoming project. About whether or not I should hire someone to amp up mandythompson.com.
And, I’ve come to a rather rebellious conclusion:
I don’t want to be a brand. I want to be a person.
I started a series on this very thing yesterday…I’m not a fan of the branding thing either.
I don’t even like the sound of “personal branding”.
If you are driven to be rich and famous then you do need to market yourself by techniques like this. That also means adopting you style to whatever is popular with the public.
Otherwise just be your self.
I can’t imagine you being anything other than “real”.
Alison Krauss once said that she didn’t like playing stadiums because “the joy of hearing the person next to you singing is gone”. Many thought she would never make that “long escalator ride to the top” because she favored the music over the branding, the packaging, the kit, &c. She’s pretty big now, though. And I think she made it to the top of “escalator” without much scathing.
But if you need an example of the prominence of branding, look no further than American Idol. Somebody wins a talent show and gets a record contract–which is pretty cool–but then all these agents and publicists…and agents of publicists…and publicists of agents…and agents of publicists’ agents…all come in and shape the person into the “star” brand. It’s all over the entertainment industry.
I remember Dave Chappelle speaking to a group of students on Inside the Actors Studio after he had gone to Africa. Everybody–agents and publicists–had freaked out because his show was such a hit. But when he came back, he talked to those students about losing his focus, how fame had left him in danger of losing himself to the brand, losing his heart to his public persona. “Thus…Africa,” he had said. And added: “You’re students. You’re still idealists.” His point was, I think, that artists–including musicians, comedians, and writers–need to know the difference between their character and themselves.
I think Alice Cooper summed it up best when talking about those women who would always say they “loved” him: “They’re not in love with me; they’re in love with the character I play on stage.”
So, when ideals implode and success explodes and you find yourself trapped in a brand: Remember who you want to be.
That’s the only way you can have a brand and be a person.
(Of course, before the Renaissance, artists had a genius. You know where that got us…
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Good to know that Alison Krauss fought the system. I’m not at all interested in the system, really.
I honestly don’t think I’ll ever get there – to the place where “ideals implode and success explodes.” I’ve never chased the spotlight. In fact, I’ve done a pretty decent job of running from it… I’m just out to be a creative – a songwriter. Nothing showy. I hate performing. It makes me want to throw up.
I guess, though, there is danger in letting people’s perception of me take over my identity. Even the perception that I’m some hyper-creative who can churn out 8 songs/month. Yeah. whatever. I’m just a perfectionist who’ll do anything to keep from failing in others’ eyes – including achieving my mind-numbing goal of 100 this year.
It is pretty mind-numbing. But Drew had a very good point when he first proposed the idea to you (paraphrase): some will be good, some will be great, some you can mix and match and make something new out of, and some will be bad; it’s all part of the creative process and you’ll hone your craft.
To tell you the truth, I am more interested in what you come up with in the years to come (assuming we both still have our blogs). Because there are things I’ve written a long, long time ago that have become like lost treasures.
Edge of U2 will sometimes listen to an old song they did and wonder, “How did I ever come up with that sound?” But after listening to it, he’ll come up something else. So even his creativity feeds his creativity.
As to failure, I think that as your abilities grow and grow, you’ll become more comfortable with what you can do. You’ll know you can do it–especially after this mind-numbing adventure. Once that happens, you’ll enjoy the creative experience a lot more than you do now. (You are SO gonna love that!) But to get there, you’ve got to start here.
(Granted, I don’t write songs; I just write. But that’s how it was for me. An artist is an artist…is an artist.)
An artist is an artist is an artist. I agree. We may use different colors, but we’re all painting. (bad metaphor?)
Thanks for your words and your encouragement. I already have some songs earmarked to re-write next year, and I’m anxious for what I’ll write out of this! I’ve already looked back on a few songs and thought “How in the heck did I come up with that?” It’s like having an out of body experience. I’ve written so much that I can’t remember them, so I listen for the first time, again, and it’s like listening to a new song… but … my voice! wild.
Good metaphor. (Bad punctuation in the parenthesis, though.
Don’t get lazy with those CAPTIALS now! 
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I have the same experience–looking back and being surprised by what I wrote–with some of my Essays and definitely with Pstorms. (I hit a serious roadblock with Pstorms, though: too much negativity drains my creativity.
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Great point. Just remember though, I am a person, you are a person, we are all people, but just like with products, you pick certain products for certain reasons, and almost always, it has something to do with the brand, what it stands for and how it serves your need at the time. What each of us ideally wants is for the stakeholders in our careers (employers, customers, audience members, fans etc.) to recognize and choose our unique differentiating value (a.k.a. our personal brand) over that of another person.
I don’t think we should think of people as products, but people should develop strong and consistent personal brands to help distinguish ourselves from others in whichever setting or situation we may find ourselves.
I distinguish me. And I am not a brand.
“Choosing” me doesn’t mean my readers and lurkers must forsake every other book or blog on the planet.
Life is not a career. And a career does not make a life.
if i may offer an alternative perspective on the subject?
So you don’t want to be a ‘brand’.
But do you want to be a ‘Success’??
‘Branding’ is about ensuring Authenticity.
Being ‘an Original’; Being ‘The Best’ Mandy Thompson you can be. (beware of imitations!)
Successful people do what successful people before them have done, but in their own inimitable way, so that their work/name is instantly recognisable and synonymous with a trusted product – even if we have not heard of them or tried them before (a la a ‘Trump Steak’).
There is no doubt that there are some people who try to make a lot of money by ‘pushing’ the negative aspects of the concept of a Brand – but think of successful brands like Coca Cola and McDonalds, each has made a huge success that many try to imitate through their ability to brand themselves and do it WELL.
I am not saying that their products are what i think we should all aspire to be or have – but there is no doubt about the formula working.
Branding can be a very good tool if it helps us stay true to our own self and what we have to offer the world.
But not if we sell ourself out to the image more than the ‘product’.
Stay a person, but be a successful person who has a successful and Authentic Brand so that people are able to more easily distinguish you from the other 6 600 000 000 persons in this world today.
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Love. I agree with the points your making – that it’s good to be the best me I can be.
But the thought of being a product to sell like McDonalds? Well, I’m so much more than that. Humans are SO much more than that. The “branding” puts an image on me that might limit my layers. It might leave one with the impression that I’m a confident, young, singer/songwriter – which I’m not. I’m not confident. And, by industry standards, I’m NOT young. Yes, I may look it. But I’m not.
I don’t want to be fake. I don’t want to leave people with a deceptive impression. And I think “branding” has a darkside. A darkside of being tempted to portray oneself as something we’re not.
Isn’t that what ad agencies get paid to do? To maximize the pro’s and minimize the con’s? Almost to the point of deception? (Chewing gum won’t make anyone sexier, but there are PLENTY of gum commercials that want me to believe that.)
Sheryl Crow was 32 when she had her first hit.
Also, you’re in luck: the baby boomers have a tendency to make everything cool. First it was, “Don’t trust anyone over 30″, then “Life begins at 40″, and now Steve Jobs, who was a hippie back in the day, had a major surgery this year and a farmer from People’s Park sits on the board of directors for General Mills after building and selling Cascadia Farms. Oh, yeah. And applying for Social Security is hip now, too.
So you’re just a youn’un from that point of view.
And besides, you can always tell your fans that you are taking your time climbing the escalator because you don’t want to be a brand. That’s honest. And they’ll totally respect you for it. That also solidifies the fan base.
One day, somebody is going to say, “Music needs people like Mandy Thompson.”
So – Mandypants could be the next Sheryl Crow?
50 is the new 40 these days
Please Mandy – don’t ‘sully’ the idea of a brand by confusing them with the concepts of advertising and ‘spin’.
Is a Fender Guitar ‘less’ because of the brand name – will people select one because of the brand?
Is a Ford motor car less because of the Brand? do people select them, search them out and try them by trusting in the blue oval?
Ferrari?
Prada?
Tiffany’s?
Fake brands won’t last long – unless they have a fortune to spend on ‘good’ advertising.
Don’t be fake – be genuine – and instantly recognisable through your valuable brand name that tells those who don’t yet know you that you are someone who is true to your good name and has something they will want – even if they don’t know it yet.
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i understand the concept.
i do.
i understand wanting to show people that you’re worth the time, worth the investment.
but i agree with not wanting to be a brand.
we are ALWAYS more than what we or others could “brand” ourselves as.
this is one reason why i LOVE the institution of marriage. it only takes so long to learn and know the full ins and outs of a product or a brand. but it takes so long to really, truly know a person.
i humbly beg to differ, but i feel some are not really understanding the ‘concept’ but are afraid of being somehow ‘transformed’ or ‘diminished’ or ‘lessened’ or ‘constricted’ or ‘cheapened’ by having their own brand.
Seeing and fearing more of the negativity than the positives i tried to demonstrate in my comment.
Yes we are able to see from negative perspectives if we choose to do so, but we are also free to see the positive perspective and benefit from it accordingly.
i said that Branding is about ensuring YOUR Authenticity – in that you need to REALLY think about who you are and what you want to ‘project’ to others, finding that ‘essence’ so that others are able to find it quickly out of the billions of other similar essences out there (most of whom can never hope to have a brand that will be a success of the type ‘successful’ (ie the ones who reach the largest audiences of their talents) Artists crave and who will remain forever ‘lost’ in the crowds). It then helps endure you ‘Stay on Track’ and don’t do things ‘out of character’.
If YOU so choose and can stay in charge of.
As for being limited or constricted – consider the ‘brand’ of Madonna; no-one could say she has been locked into a single ‘persona’. She is constantly evolving and re-inventing herself based upon who she is NOW and remains successfully identifiable and instantly recognisable – no matter how much she ‘changes’.
No-one is saying that you ARE your brand – as you rightly point out you can be so much ‘more’. (people are actually capable of realising this also).
The purpose of a successful brand though is to ensure that people are able to easily find you and understand what you are mostly about – that you are significant enough to be ‘tried’ on the basis of your past record that is more easily recognised as a ‘simplified’, refined ‘package’ – the Brand ‘Mandy T’ so that people are able to find out the real you by spending more time with you than with the rest of us who don’t make ourselves as easily ‘recognisable’.
Having a recognised Brand never stopped Coke from making new flavours and varieties – although it probably should
but if being a success scares you and you don’t really want it – there is no requirement for you to have one.
Most of the nobody’s like me don’t… and we are likely to remain largely unknown to the world…. comfy, secure and unchallenged in our familiar obscurity.
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p.s. Having a brand is NOT the same as Being the brand.
a Person can have a brand – a brand should never ‘have’ a person.
the person is always the greater, potentially – we need to keep that perspective.
What the brand can do (and a good one does) is represent what is good about us to those who have not yet had the chance to make our acquaintance personally.
if you desperately feel a need to be brutally honest and list all your faults first to prospective new friends/listeners then by all means make that part of your brand.
you do make sure you show those same faults up front when you meet new people for the first time – right?
that’s not quite the same as ‘hiding’ them or admitting to them as the friendship grows and no-one is saying your brand should not represent the real you.
<B
Love.
Again, I have no problems with all the beneficial concepts you’ve listed: authenticity, recognizability, accessibility, I just have a problem with the concept/wording of brand. The definition given in my post likened branding to “self-packaging”…
Consider where the phrase “branding” has its roots? Product marketing.
I’m not a product to be sold. I don’t want to be packaged or marketed.
Then we are both in agreement – you have a problem here.
if you want to only be ‘loved’ for who you (think you) ARE then i’m fairly sure you won’t reach as many people as you might otherwise as an artist who sings and performs to an audience – maybe that’s a good thing? Maybe not.
If you want people to pay for what you are offering to them, then at some stage i’m afraid, you are gonna have to have your ‘product’ packaged and marketed. If that is not what you are seeking that is perfectly fine with me i have no ‘say in your choices you make for your life at all – i was only hoping through my comments that you might be able to see and take advantage of the benefits while not giving in to the drawbacks and fears a word can create inside of us is all
Basically i don’t like the way most people i meet – and at times i myself – make choices based upon irrational fears and incorrect suppositions/predictions. I try to help people see past them.
largely unsuccessfully i might add
i live in perpetual hope however.
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Oh I don’t mind packaging my upcoming album. And I don’t mind having my face on the cover. And I don’t mind putting my name as the artist of the album. And I’d be grateful if people actually buy it….
But I’m not selling “me” – I’m selling something I made. But not me. I’m not going to package myself. I still think there’s a significant, albeit subtle, difference. The album is a portion of me – and it’s outside of me. It’s beyond me. It’s got Brent’s fingerprints on it, and others as well… My blog is not me. It’s a portion of me. There is life and details and feelings and dreams and nightmares and personality tones that are far outside of these things. And I’m not interested in tweaking my personal image and personality to be something that others will want… I just want to be me. As I am. Take it or leave it.
I’m not up for marketing myself for the masses.
Understood
the ONLY reason i could actually see to do so would be to help ensure your music sales are maximised – that you ‘brand’ a musician ‘persona’, not the ‘real’ you – However everything about that persona would HAVE to be Real! Not Fake. Authentic.
if you don’t want to package the whole person that is Mandy T that is perfectly fine with me – so we agree again – no?
i never thought of you as the next ‘Paris Hilton’ anyway – you’ll be wrapped to know, i’m sure
That ‘brand’ i try to avoid like the plague.
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Yes we agree!! And I’m so thrilled about that fact, sir!!!
And you’re right – that if I branded some version of myself, it would probably do wonders for my music sales.
But wouldn’t do much for my conscience.
Ahhhh THAT pushy little sucker…
Mine would not let me stay silent concerning doing what i may to assist your ‘career’ become all it might.
Hence the comments to this post
Agreement rocks though
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Yes, agreements do rock. I’ll count this as a collective victory!