February 20, 2006We ARE the brand
Filed Under: New Branding
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A while ago during one of the IM conversation Tom Biro and I were having he had what I consider a genius idea.
See Tom and I have a situation. Both of us write for AdJab but we also have other blogs and online efforts. Tom writes TheMediaDrop himself as well as Open the Dialogue for his employer, MWW. I run Movie Marketing Madness as a personal blog and also Bacon's Blog for Bacon's Information whom I work for. I also write a column titled Movie Marketing Madness for FilmThreat.com. So both of us are multi-bloggers.
The problem we have is one of branding. How do we alert people to the full range of efforts we're involved in and not neglect one or more of the others? Tom's idea was simple: We encourage people to search for us. When you run "Tom Biro" through Google you'll see TMB, AJ and OTD all come up within the top five results. Do the same for "Chris Thilk" and you get my stuff.
Tom's point is that quite separate from whatever we might be doing, we are the brand names. TMD, MMM, these are all just outlets for, essentially, us. This isn't at all to say that we're looking for new jobs - at all - or we actually need to be writing elsewhere. But let's just say that we're both comfortable with, and like being, interviewed on a number of topics, and don't feel like reading all the ProfNet requests out there on the wire? (No, we're not that obnoxious to think we know everything, stop it!) Do we, as probably-somewhere-on-the-C
By writing in multiple locations as Tom and I do, it kind of divvies up your abilities to possibly different audience - which is fine - but it's not necessarily a good thing as fragmented as the Internet can be. Herein lies the concept - do we place advertisements, perhaps in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way, online, perhaps even through a podcast like Joe Jaffe's Across the Sound? It wouldn't be about branding our jobs, or AdJab, or anything else necessarily, just a kind of fun way to say "looking for xyz? Google Chris and/or Tom, and yada yada yada." At the very least, it seemed like a fun experiment, but it's unclear where it would lead.
Needless to say, the opportunity to write here at JJ might be a good jumping point for things like this, and it allows us to pose the question - should bloggers - let's just say mostly the fully freelance ones - "brand" themselves out there? We all know that the sites they run and the words they write create the brand that they are, whether they like it or not (ask most bloggers who've been asked to do a paid gig or guest host how they got there, and the answer would actually be that their brand got them, even if they don't say it). So would marketing yourself by way of a search engine just in a way to, effectively, make yourself famous, work at all? Or is it just a parlor trick?
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Comments
I also have multiple blogs, work, personal, fun, ect. and I have found that www.squidoo.com (Seth Godin's project) works as a perfect jumping off point for all of my projects.
Posted by: Tac
So many identities, so little time. ;-p
Looks like there are two tasks here. First, is figuring out who you want to be. Second is, once that’s done, promoting it.
As for the first, you basically have to evolve the brand (you) and reintroduce yourself to your audience as just one person who happens to also write for all these other places. Could work. Could also end up like the Coke Classic debacle. (joke)
But with so many idenities, consumers might be confused. The common thread is you. So why not just put your name out there from the get go?
I don’t think consumers ever really escape the first association and/or connection they have with a brand/product, even if that association is good or bad.
You might have a toughter task the longer you wait because while you build your audience that way, people also become comfortable with it and changing a name upsets the apple cart.
Just like this site, I came to it knowing it as Jaffe Juice. Later, I find out Joe is the person behind it, but in my mind, I’m still thinking Jaffe Juice.
If I also say American Copywriter, most people know what the podcast/blog is that’s run by John and Tug. But they still think of the title AC first, not John and Tug.
If I say Ernie Schenck, people know him from multiple columns, but no matter which column, he is first thought of as Ernie.
Sounds like you’ve reached the tipping point where even though you write for several blogs, people collectively know the person behind it all. So maybe now’s the time to step out and be that ONE person.
Which leads to the second part. Maybe you promote the new person using the old channels. Why waste the opportunity with the following you’ve built. Why can’t you go 'Chris Thilk's MMM' or 'Chris Thilk for Bacon's Blog'
Posted by: makethelogobigger
I see a direct correlation to syndicated columnists and omnimedia personalities. No matter where you read or see them they are who they are.
Posted by: American Copywriter
Whether you have realized it yet or not you are building the platform for a global microbrand. Very interesting timing, I just posted a redux of some of my thoughts on what others are doing with their global microbrands. http://www.thinkjose.com/article/global-microbrands-continue-growing
You are an expert, you have multiple outlets, and you have a niche following, now you just need to make your personal brand cohesive. Maybe a small icon that you put at the bottom of each post (here, there, anywhere) that links back to a landing home page for your brand. Aggregate the feeds from all your posts into one place, your home site. Sounds to me like with a little work on cohesion Chris Thilk can be the next Mark Cuban, Tom Peters, Joseph Jaffe, etc.
Buena Suerte!
Jose
Posted by: thinkjose
Seems like everything and everyone is a brand. From a legal standpoint, the test of a true brand is whether it is a registered mark (trademark or service mark).
Let's not get too brandacious.
Posted by: Chuck
I have not found any mystake - great http://car-news.cars-search.org/
Posted by: car
I guess it's very difficult not to be associated with what you are doing. Especially if it's popular...more popular and demanded as yourselve are.
http://www.all-translations.com/copywriting-service.html
Posted by: Renea, copywriter
