MentalPolyphonics » Marketing http://mentalpolyphonics.com Committees exist to share blame. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:11:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Your Personal Brand http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/your-personal-brand http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/your-personal-brand#comments Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:52:26 +0000 Jared http://mentalpolyphonics.com/?p=4730 Modernist identity theory says that it is virtuous to be authentic to your essence. Acting inauthentically is a cardinal sin. For example, if a guy asks how to get girls, most of the time he’ll be told “just be yourself”.

If left to our own devices, most of the decisions we make are satisficing: choosing to do things that are good enough. You wear whatever’s clean, you watch whatever’s on, you do stuff because your friends are doing it, etc. (If your habitual actions happen to be Stuff White People Like, then you’re automatically authentic.)

But under modernism, this unplanned, unexamined life is supposed to be better than a life that’s engineered, a life of artifice. I beg to differ: people should be allowed to invent their identities, to “fake it till you make it”. The test is how well they pull it off, how consistent is their identity? And, of course, acting a particular way for personal gain is not cool, while acting a particular way because it’s enjoyable is cool.

Let’s call this act of constructing, projecting and maintaining an identity “personal branding“. I think that rather than construct an identity out of thin air, you should look at where you’re successful in life and what aspects you’re happy about. Distil a brand essence out of those. Then build on your strengths and nudge the rest of your life into alignment with your brand.

]]> http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/your-personal-brand/feed 2 Your Professional Brand http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/your-professional-brand http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/your-professional-brand#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:43:07 +0000 Jared http://mentalpolyphonics.com/?p=4706 Tom Peters is a popular post-industrial management theorist. Way back in 1997 he wrote an article about workers seeing themselves as a product with a brand. At the time it was fashionable to speculate that employees were old-meme and soon we’d all be consultants hired for project work. But the idea applies almost as well to employees working their way up a corporate ladder.

One book I’ve read on personal branding is Soaring on Your Strengths, which emphasizes that a brand must fill a market niche. The “best overall” niche is hard to fill, it’s better to focus on what you’re good at and, just as importantly, what you like. Rather than try to correct your weaknesses, get better at your strengths.

The key trick here is to go from a list of previous jobs on your resume to a brand. Since mission statements were the fashionable strategic planning tool at the time, Peters suggests:

Start by writing your own mission statement, to guide you as CEO of Me Inc. What turns you on?…What’s your personal definition of success?…However you answer these questions, search relentlessly for job or project opportunities that fit your mission statement.

Soaring on Your Strengths guides you through a list to get at your brand essence:

  • equity (mostly education)
  • talents & core competencies
  • image & reputation
  • passion
  • values

Once you’ve got your brand, the idea is that it guides your resumes, cover letters, elevator pitches, professional associations, wardrobe, etc. Soaring on Your Strengths gives a bit of advice on that, but I think the basic idea is pretty obvious (and SoYS won’t help you master it).

]]> http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/your-professional-brand/feed 1 Best Sales Campaign Ever http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/best-sale-campaign-ever http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/best-sale-campaign-ever#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 17:41:55 +0000 Jack http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/best-marketing-campaign-ever Check out Marks & Spencer’s apology to chesty women (safe for work).

Does that set off conspiracy alarms for anyone else? It seems like a very well-engineered sales event. Nothing moves merchandise like a sex-drama spectacle.

Even if it’s totally innocent it’s worth learning from.

]]> http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/best-sale-campaign-ever/feed 0 Wearing Your Marketing Strategy on Your Sleeve http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/wearing-your-marketing-strategy-on-your-sleeve http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/wearing-your-marketing-strategy-on-your-sleeve#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:22:40 +0000 Jared http://mentalpolyphonics.com/posts/wearing-your-marketing-strategy-on-your-sleeve As seen on a big sign in a window display:

I am unique and impulsive. I want to save the planet, and love designer shoes. I drive a small car & dream big. Jacob is the brand for me.

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