What is common about diet coke, Under Armour, Trident gum, and Amarula all have in common? Well, these are all products and brands that I use quite frequently. All are different, but they all show who I am as a person, and my personal brand.
For example, for those that know me– I drink diet coke all the time (just ask any of my classmates and friends at Tennessee). It’s an absolute must, and it is something that people think of me because I have it all the time. But they also make associations that I am on a diet (which I am), and that I am watching my weight. Or it could mean that I need the caffiene because I am doing lots of good work in research and projects! 🙂 The point is, that all of these contribute to associations that people make make about me, which could contribute to their perception of my personal brand.
What is in a brand? Can a brand define the person that you are? And if you use certain products, does that impact your overall reputation among your peers, friends, family, and other audiences? This is a question that I find very interesting in determining how people make decisions about people about certain products that they use, and how they perceive these brand attributes and what it personally means to them.
It is very interesting to see how people make associations and judgments about people by the products that they use, wear, or like. For example, this past weekend I hosted my sister Kristin here out in Tennessee, and we got a chance to go to the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg. It was very neat to see how the whiskey was made. Anyway, while we were there– we got some gifts and one of the things that I got for myself was a t-shirt. Now, I don’t drink, but I still like the Jack Daniels brand because I got other gifts from them as well (ex. chocolates, pecans, and coffee). However, the first thing that people may think of would be JD’s whiskey.
Am I misrepresenting the brand because of this? I would say no– the majority of people may think that the only thing that JD is known for is their whiskey- which is understandable. However, I think that I am an example of a unique stakeholder for JD because I appreciate their brand for different reasons. There are people like me that use the JD products for other activities, like cooking (what can I say– I’m a foodie!)
There are so many different perspectives that people seem to not consider in their first impressions of people and brands, but it is important to recognize that there are multiple perceptions and associations that people can make with brands. As public relations professionals, we have to be aware of these wide range of perspectives in order to get the overall view of our stakeholders and their environment.
Overall, I think that there are some brands and items that do show some characteristics about the type of person that they are, but it’s not the complete picture. To put it into PR form– it’s like the executive summary in a campaign proposal for a client– it gives you an abstract of what is going on in its various sections, but not the real implications and meaning of what’s going on. To get a really clear insight– you have to look at the complete PR campaign proposal to understand it fully.
So basically, brands do show people a glimmer into the life of an individual, but the best thing to do to get to know a person or their personal brand is by communicating.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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