The Making of Me: Personal Branding, Nicknames and Identity

Jeff Bezos famously said “your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in your room”. In the context of personal branding, your brand is literally what people say about you when you’re not in the room.

It’s the combination of associations, beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and expectations that people hold about you.

Before any first-hand experience, it’s likely that reputation and bias will mean there is a preconception about you or your brand.

And name alone is enough to imply all manner of information and trigger perceptions and memories.

For as long as I can remember, people have named me Mitch.

Initially this was a natural childhood nickname and possibly for that reason alone I find a fondness in being called Mitch as opposed to my given name – Chris.

Dare I and the stern voice in my head go as far as Christopher.

Heaven forbid I go further – Christopher Richard Mitchell – and spell out CRM. My parents somewhat subconsciously pre-empting my career.

Thankfully “Mitch” has endured.

In later working life I have found Mitch to be my preferred name. Not because I am overtly trying to control my image but because when someone calls me Mitch it infers a degree of comfort and friendship. They know me beyond an email address or name tag which provides a sense of mutual at-ease within the working relationship.

It also means that they’ve paid attention to how I refer to myself – I’ll always sign off as Mitch.?

This has all happened organically, rather than being an intentional exercise in personal branding, and only now with hindsight am I able to process why I have badged myself Mitch.

More considered was my new married name – Mitchwell.

With Mitch an important and established part of my identity, it made sense to retain it at least partially, as part of my surname. However, I did want to acknowledge the union of marriage in name and it felt equally incumbent on me to make that acknowledgement, not just my wife.

We decided going double-barrelled felt too much of a mouthful and implied the grandeur of two great, historic families uniting. Whilst my wife hails from Royal Wotton Bassett, she’s no Duchess and her hometown is as close to royalty as we get.

Merging our surnames was an unconventional alternative that appealed.??

My wife’s family name being Ridgwell, our surnames allowed for some easy word-smithery in meshing them to create Mitchwell, a name close friends have referred to us as for numerous years.

Consequently, it felt authentic to us and equally representative despite the fact I only gained a “W”.?

There’s also the added practical benefit that it is infinitely easier to find an email address or social media handle with a unique surname, and therefore also far easier to be found. For future Mitchwell’s I expect this will be helpful.

For others, taking control of their name can have even greater significance to their personal and cultural identity.

The A-Team actor Mr.T decided to legally change his name following the disrespect he observed toward Black men in his childhood.

"I changed it because I wasn't given respect before… people have a tendency to call a man 'boy' - I changed my name to Mr. T so that the first word to come out on anybody's mouth is 'Mr', out of a sign of respect” he once stated during an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman

Similar stories exist in the field of corporate branding, whereby brand name infers vital information. ?

Take the Bank of Italy.

Amadeo Peter Giannini, son of Italian immigrants, set up the Bank of Italy in the wake of the famously devasting Californian earthquake in 1906. He walked North Beach, providing loans to other Italian immigrants and devasted victims on nothing more than a handshake.

The Bank of Italy made headlines and established a reputation for helping the working classes which other banks would dismiss.

The bank’s name referred directly to the market Amadeo served – the Italian immigrant community.

Amadeo was ambitious. He sought further growth and in doing so, recognised the limitation of the brand name. To acquire new customers, he needed to appeal to a wider audience.

On November 1, 1930, the Bank of Italy in San Francisco changed its name to Bank of America. The name of the new bank represented the market Amadeo intended to serve.

City by city, state by state, Amadeo built the first national bank and by the time he died in 1949 the Bank of America had more than 500 branches and $6 billion assets.

Where Bank of America’s name spoke to their target market, other brand names reference something of their brands values, attitude, or intentions.

When Richard Branson launched Virgin, he named it because of his plans for a new type of business and a new way of doing things.

Or take the curious short story of how WD-40 got its name.

WD stands for water displacement, and 40 refers to the number of the successful experiment - the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed the product.

More simply, Nike refers to the Greek goddess of victory.

So, whether personal branding or traditional branding, “name and reputation are all bound up together” in the words of Matthew Hook – better known as Hooky to many.

Name can infer or even explain our values, define our identity and have cultural significance. It’s the first and likely one of the most defining ways we present ourselves to others.

My advice is to be authentic, and by authentic, I mean be true to yourself, ensuring that if your name implies certain values or characteristics, it is congruent with your interests, actions and behaviour.

For Richard Branson, that meant Virgin had to behave in a way that other brands didn’t.

For Mr. T, that meant he had to command respect and authority.

And for me, when known as Mitch, that means I am approachable and easy-going, even in a professional environment.

Or for my wife and I as Mitchwell’s, that means we are equals and if needs be unconventional.

For many, me included, this might all feel a little cringeworthy and uncomfortable but if we don’t take a proactive approach to how we present ourselves, starting with our name, we are leaving our brand to be defined by other people, search engines, social media, algorithms and chance.

So, whether personal branding or corporate branding, claim your name and own your own narrative. It might literally be the making of you. ?