BonoVox's Personal Brand

Artist name: Bono Vox (Paul David Hewson)

Job: musician, venture capitalist, businessman, and philanthropist

Country: Ireland

“As a rock star, I have two instincts, I want to have fun, and I want to change the world. I have a chance to do both.”

Bono Vox

Introduction

Irish rock icon, Bono Vox, born on Tuesday May 10th 1960, in Dublin, is best recognized as the front man of the rock band U2.

Along with U2’s success in influencing large audiences with music, Bono is admittedly well-known as one of the most philanthropic artists in the world. He leads a widely acclaimed, data-driven, global organization that influences governments, rallies C-suites, and raises hundreds of millions of dollars for people living in poverty.

In addition to 22 Grammy Awards he has received as a member of U2, his philanthropic figure attributed to his social activism, has also earned him more than one nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was also named as a Person of the Year by Time Magazine in 2005, and in 2007, and granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II.

Bono’s expertise and values that differentiate him from others

While Bono, as an acknowledged music legend, undoubtedly has a wide fan base across the globe based on his musical accomplishments as a U2 member, his music fans are not all of Bono admires. Many world leaders are also in the list.

• “Bono has this unusual mix of traits that combines idealism and action,” “Most people only have one, but he has both. We bet on him.” – Tim Cook, Apple CEO
• “There is no one better who can harness the emotion and soul and value of people,” “He dreams big and then works so hard to get things done,” – Muhtar Kent, Coca Cola CEO
• Howard Schultz., the former Starbucks CEO seems genuinely inspired by the rock star’s humanitarian bent and leadership ability. “I can tell you that he is a true authentic servant leader,” says Schultz. “He might be onstage and the lights are very bright. But when the cameras are off and no one is watching, I think that’s when you really know who someone is. He’s the real deal.”

There are many outstanding global musicians we can name, but it is hard to find someone who is respected universally and as influential as Bono. So what made him so special? Of course we cannot imagine Bono without his iconic glasses, but there must be something more than that.

As a Musician

Bono is a professional and irreplaceable musician.

U2, a band Bono belongs, is famous for having innumerable loyal followers. It goes without saying that U2’s signature sound delivered by Bono’s larger-than-life vocals and disorienting lyrics which contributed to the group’s rebellious and spiritual tone, supported by The Edge’s “airy” guitar rifts and the strong back-up accompaniment from Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton on drums and bass make U2’s music unique.

“They don’t sound like anyone else,” says Tom Freston, the founder of MTV and One’s board chair. “And they’ve been making music that resonates with people for decades.”

As a Philanthropist

Bono, both personally and in the name of U2, has always been devoted to helping their fellow man.

In 1985, Bono joined the Jubilee 2000 movement, which sought to pressure rich countries to forgive the foreign debt of 52 nations. Bono is also one of the founders of ONE, an anti-poverty organization, and also co-founder of DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), an NGO to fight AIDS, hunger and corruption on the African continent

U2 has always made giving back to humanity a priority, and it’s reflected in both their powerful music and their generosity in giving back. With each new effort comes forth a new song to bring awareness. Here are a few examples:

• Do They Know It’s Christmas – Ethiopian Famine
• Bullet the Blue Sky – San Salvador Civil War
• Miss Sarajevo – Bosnian War
• New York – for 9/11
• Sweetest Thing – Chernobil Childrens Proejct
• Walk On – Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi
• The Saints are Coming – Hurrican Katrina
• Sunday Bloody Sunday – Irish Massacre

The purpose of U2 for existing goes beyond just making millions of dollars making music, but using their music and fame to build awareness for various humanitarian crises that demand the attention and action of their followers. This has made U2 and Bono to be admired and respected.

He himself also has a convincing reason why he has been so drawn to development work, i.e., due to the Irish identity playing an important role in Bono’s identity. He says, “Ireland has a real living memory of famine and shaking off colonialism” He also mentioned that he is still healing the scars of violence, poverty, and despair. “I believe development can work in Africa because it worked in Ireland.”

As a Social Activist

Bono has constantly made impressive speeches about helping people in the poverty. His voice has an effect not only between the fans of U2, but also to government leaders, religious institutions, philanthropic organizations and as well as major big brands.

As mentioned by Leonardo Araújo, a marketing professor and researcher at the Dom Cabral Foundation, Bono “talks to people from the community with politicians, and starts building a concept of reputation from that, which he could never have achieved if he did not have a strong and consistent image supported by his attitudes. ”

Moreover, Bono does not just stay in the theoretical plane, but actively puts his speech into practice. In May 2009, the French group LVMH – the world’s largest luxury empire, owner of designer labels such as Louis Vuitton and Dior – acquired 50% of the environmental apparel brand Edun, which was created by Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, in 2005 with the aim of stimulating economic development in poor countries, with production stages scattered throughout Africa.

His personal brand traits that made him highly influential

When it comes to personal branding, brand is not created at once. It takes time and acceptable stories for certain images to be connected to a person in people’s minds.

In this point of view, Bono is a politically correct artist leading a long-time active band without fights, who speaks for social reasons since the 80’s. In addition to that, he has been married to a person who was his girlfriend in high school. All of these factors make his brand strong and highly influential.

Some of the specific traits of personal brand include:

• He is down to earth and love people: Bono is a successful worldwide megastar, but he is down to earth and love his fellow people. He would like to embrace the whole world and is everyone’s favorite.Very impressionable, Bono has an inner feeling for others and can easily establish relationships with everyone. He is likely to have a busy social life and also enjoys working in group activities.

• He is loyal to his family: He is loyal to people who he loves. He has been married to Alison Stewart, who he met at the Mount Temple high school in Dublin, and he has been married to her for nearly 30 years. Bono and Alison have four children: daughters Jordan, 26, and Eve, 24, who both live in New York City, and sons Elijah, 16, and John, 14. He is well suited for marriage and often becomes a responsible loving parent.
• He is humanitarian: Bono is well-known for his global charity efforts, especially for the African AIDS crisis and world poverty. Bono’s many music awards include one of his firsts, a 1996 ASCAP for songs in the movie “Batman Forever.” In 2014, Rolling Stone named “Songs of Innocence,” a free album streamed in collaboration with Apple and iTunes, as best album of the year, and it was also nominated for Best Rock Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Bono also founded organizations aimed at fighting against poverty, AIDS, hunger and corruption on the African continent.

• He is a good talker: He is one of rock’s greatest talkers, full of wit and candor and poetry, but at the same time does not lose persuasive power. He has an ability to convince others to support his ideas, and make them believe that they are the true leaders of change, not him. This is why his speech resonates with a lot of audience including world leaders, as proven by their actual accounts. Bono has the merit of talking to several stakeholders, not just the fans of the band, according to Leonardo Araújo, marketing professor and researcher at the Dom Cabral Foundation. He says “He talks to people from the community with politicians, and starts building a concept of reputation from that, something that he could have never achieved, if he did not have a strong and consistent image supported by his attitudes.”
• He is credible and dependable: Justice and honesty are sacred to Bono, making him reliable and dependable, and quite often – a cornerstone in the community. Also, though not a typical idealist, Bono is willing to work for a better world in a realistic way.

• Bono is pragmatic, shrewd, and an excellent strategist, carefully planning his moves for maximum effectiveness and advantage. He is willing to work long and persistently for what he wants and he often does things the hard way. Paul Hewson does not expect others to take care of him and sometimes refuses or simply does not seek any outside help. He is often very ambitious, but quietly so. There is nothing flamboyant or flashy about his approach. He is very responsible, conscientious, and concerned with his duties to others and how he comes across socially – his “rank” so to speak. Also, he is a person who approaches life realistically and who is not inclined to take foolish chances or get carried away by the overly optimistic or idealistic schemes of starry-eyed dreamers. And his realistic decisions that he made has contributed to his credibility.
• He is enterprising: He is orderly, organized, systematic and controlled, and once committed, he employs decisive and methodical steps to problems solving, without giving up easily. Bono seeks to establish a solid foundation, and would rather use hard work and long hours to build a business or career than search for “get rich quick” schemes. He has great potential for success, but only after putting out effort and overcoming the limitations he so often encounters. Courageous and a true survivor, he is a builder and the foundation of any enterprise, and his hard work and practical values pay off to provide Bono with the rewards he seeks and deserves.

Things he should have done better

• He is somewhat stubborn: He has a strong vision, but at the same time just because of it, he is somewhat rigid in his ideas and stuck in convention. He can also be overly cautious when changes are necessary, this can cause him to miss opportunities that present themselves. Bono must cultivate flexibility in his character. Also, there is danger that his trait of determination and dedication makes Bono cling to ideas and projects well past their fruitions season. It is a good idea for him to keep fresh pipeline of ideas to make it easier to replace outdated plans by new and better ones.

• He is hot-tempered: Patient as he is towards his goals, Bono’s flying, ravaging temper endangers his relationships with the very same people that will help him to accomplish those goals. He should use his strength of will to study and practice anger management. Also, Bono has to be careful not to be bossy and rude. He possesses rare discipline and perseverance and not everyone can keep up with him.

How Bono Vox used social media

Bono has actively engaged in social media activities to communicate with the public. It can be easily seen from U2’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages which are followed by millions of people.

However, Bono goes one more step further when it comes to the use of social media. Thanks to his smart investment he made with Facebook in 2009, he became a billionaire ranking in $1.4 billion in 2015, ahead of Paul McCartney — worth $1.12 billion — and Madonna, worth $800 million.

Remarkably, in his six years investing on Facebook, Bono has apparently made more money than he did in his entire music career, spanning more than 40 years.

How he will be remembered

“He’s the cooler-than-cool rocker, the legendary front man of U2, husband of 22 years and father of four who’s singing his heart out to shine light on a crisis devastating a continent.” – Oprah Winfrey

Bono Vox is the rarest of rock stars – an artist and an activist in the same measure. Apart from him, who else could have used music to get us to feel the impact of Third World Economies?

Rejecting to remain simply as a good rock musician, Bono continues to pour his energy into global causes, meeting with world leaders and working on behalf of his ONE Campaign, which fights extreme poverty.

In fact, Bono Vox has also matured as a businessman. He co-founded Elevation, a private equity firm created in 2004, a high performer thanks to investments in Facebook, Yelp, BioWare and Pandemic Studios. And in 2014 he became a special partner in TPG Growth, a global investment group with $7 billion under management. In 2015, there were also news reports on him being a billionaire after facebook investment.

These accomplishments in his business have also brought some criticism as to the authenticity of Bono’s speech on fighting against the poverty. However, as long as Bono keeps practicing his solid belief, he will be remembered as a humanitarian musician who had constantly worked to fight for the poor.

Key Points

• Having strong beliefs and working toward it is good for building strong personal brand.
• While it is important to have strong beliefs, putting such beliefs into action is more important.
• Find strategical and persuasive ways to make people follow and support your ideas;
• Engaging with socially influential figures such as world leaders, entrepreneurs and celebrities can be one strategical way to make your ideas get more attention.
• Make sure to be down-to-earth and good to people around you even when you become famous and rich.
• Social media itself can be an object of investment, in addition to its original function as a communication tool.

www.aicy-create.com

www.aicy-create.cn