Where Does Your Brand Live?

My friend Mike Brown of Brainzooming wrote a fascinating blog post the other day that really captured my attention.  Partly because I am obsessed with strategic tools that we marketers use to identify a brand positioning, and partly because I'm putting the finishing touches on my newest book which is all about personal branding.

Mike poses the fill in the blank statement:  My brand sits at the intersection of _________ and __________.  Now in my mind this works for a big national brand, a small business brand, or a personal brand.  Ahh, the magic of marketing.

It's a meaningful exercise because it teaches focus:  you only get to pick two brand attributes.  Two features/benefits if you will.  And that's what I love about it.  Focus.  I find marketers have a HUGE struggle with focus, yet it's the most important thing that we can do.

Consumers can't possibly remember much about your brand, so to get them to think of you in two dimensions is quite a feat.  The other thing I love about this is it also gives a brand a chance to show two different, almost opposing features.

My brand?  I said "inspiring" and "creative."  Or at least that's how I like to position myself ... but isn't that what a "positioning" is supposed to be?  How you want your "consumers" to think about you, when they think about you.

What's your brand ... what's your experience?  Jim.

Jim Joseph
- President, Cohn & Wolfe NA
- Author, The Experience Effect series
- Professor, NYU
- Contributor, Entrepreneur