Browsing articles in "Big Branding"
Oct
27

Stealth Branding, or: The Batman Approach

By The Dude  //  Big Branding  //  No Comments
Image by; dechobek
Image by; dechobek

For most of us, setting out to create and promote our own Brand Identities means at least temporarily having to work a day job for an employer who already has their own. Until you’re ready to end that relationship (preferably on good terms, no need to burn bridges when you’re trying to build a following), you’ll have two brands to maintain; your employer’s and your own.

Dan Schawbel over at Personal Branding Blog has weighed in on this issue, giving us 10 Ways to Get Fired For Building Your Personal Brand. Dan’s got some great advice, and several of his examples seem to have the same moral:
Your Personal Brand and Your Employer’s Brand Should Never Mix.
 
Whether it’s a difference in ideaology, or an issue of the amount of time you’re spending on your brand instead of your employer’s, or your Brand putting you in direct competition/opposition with your employer, there will always be a reason why it is not a good idea to invite your manager to be your Facebook Fan, or link back to your CEO’s blog from your own.
It becomes so much simpler (and I think, more fun), if you handle it this way… Are you ready for this? …. You. Are. Batman.
You heard me. Batman. You are mild-mannered Bruce Wayne by day, responsible head of Wayne Enterprises. You manage your employees, you return value to your stockholders. You are a model citizen of the corporate world. But at night, you strap on your cape and cowl, and you fight for your ideals and your morals, making Gotham City a better place to live.
Okay, so I’m a huge nerd. But, I’m also serious. Until you’re ready for your Brand to become your full-time job and source of income, keep it as a secret identity, at least from prying eyes at work who might not like those pictures you just posted to your branded Flickr account.
How do you keep your work and personal Brands separate?  Share in the comments.
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Oct
26

Big Branding: My Starbucks Story

By The Dude  //  Big Branding  //  No Comments

stb

Global coffee powerhouse Starbucks has begun a new campaign, encouraging their “parners” (this is their word for “employees”) to upload video shorts about their day-to-day lives at  Starbucks. A cynical reader could think “sure, global conglomorate who provides my paycheck. I’m already your wage slave, why don’t I  film your next commercial for you., too?” But this really is, in no small way, brilliant.

Over time, Starbucks has lost some of its marketshare to smaller chains and local coffee houses because Starbucks has gotten a bad rap as a soulless corporation amongst a customer base that includes a ton of artists and entertainers who are not so much into that sort of thing. What a perfect way for Starbucks to strengthen their brand by saying, “look, we’re real people too.”

Starbucks  empoyees partners, especially the baristas, really are the front lines of the customer experience with the company and  the company’s entire Brand Identity. When we get to know and like them, we get to know and like Starbucks again. Even if they burn their poor little coffee beans far past the point where they are still recognizable as coffee.

So, what do we learn here? Well, if a multi-national, multi-million dollar (billion dollar?  Is it bad if I don’t go look it up?) corporation can do it, why not you? Show yourself to your potential customers! Not your slick, commercialized, ready-to-make-the-sale self, but you. Create a YouTube post, or podcast, or editorial blog post to really introduce yourself to your audience and let them know you’re just as likable as you are awesomely talented.

My Starbucks Story (via)

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