How do they stand out from the crowd?
Anil Rao M
Information Technology Professional | Former Chief Information Officer, SUN Pharma and Senior VP & Delivery Head, Mindtree
‘Escalator’ was launched to provide service as a “Moving Stairway”. It was a brand name owned by Otis.
More names come to mind like Aspirin, Band-Aid, Bubble-wrap, Chapstick, Coke, Facetime, FedEx, Frisbee, Google, Jacuzzi, Jeep, Kleenex, Photoshop, Post-It, Thermos, Uber, Velcro, Xerox, Zipper. And very often these days, Zoom!
“Xerox it”, “Take the Escalator”, “I Uber to work”, “It is Photoshopped”, “Just Google it” etc. have become common in day-to-day parlance.
These seem like examples of nouns becoming verbs. However, these companies and brands have not only been highly successful, but their reputation has become synonymous with the service they provide.
Just marketing efforts and spend will not help build brand reputation and success. Brands, such as those named above, have established their reputation by significantly providing consumers utility and value, consistently.
The heavy price to pay is that most of these iconic brand names have become victims of genericide - the process by which a brand name loses its distinctive identity as a result of being used to refer to any product or service of its kind.
Turning the focus from companies to individuals …
Branding is about making an individual's identity known that makes them unique and letting know how that individual can be of service + value to those who need it; portrayed consistently in both the physical and digital worlds.
Whether we like it or not, each of us has a personal brand. Nurturing a personal brand requires truthful self-reflection and introspection. Making oneself visible is incredibly important for all on this small planet.
Bernard Kelvin Clive says, “The power of the brand is not in the name but what has been invested in that name over the years”.
Many individuals hesitate to spend time with the idea of personal branding. Shedding that hesitation and a right prioritization could help reach a larger community and in making much more positive impact during one's career and lifetime.
What is your personal brand synonymous with?