Random fact about me: When I write my “I’m going to dissect my life and share it with you” blogs, I write them while I listen to a specific playlist on my ipod. Doing anything can be hard, especially if you are not in the right mindset, so I try to cheat the system by using other methods = listening to the same songs as I reach deep into my well. I think I can condition myself and make it a little easier – my brain slips into its internal mode. Who would have ever thought that the fire would have made it hot?

Well, this is the first of many posts titled “the id system”. I’ve been working on this theory for awhile; I just haven’t been able to put my thoughts into words. I struggle at this. Tonight while mr. howard and I were in our 3rd game of tennis, I looked down at my racket and instantly I saw all my thoughts come together. I’m not sure why it clicked just then, but it did… I spent the next 10 games thinking about this….

I was fortunate to work at an advertising agency that offered “brand consulting” as a service. It was something I really wanted to learn. At my first “Brand Retreat”,[where we would take key decision makers out to a resort for a couple days and pick their brains about their brand and why they think they need a “consultant”.], I realized that although I didn’t go to school for advertising or have any experience in this, I might just be a natural. Why? Because it seemed obvious to me…

A Brand is the essence of a business. But because businesses grow so quickly and decisions makers move around – board of directors change – new CEO’s come in – there are numerous reasons – Things just change. So, they bring in a consultant to assist them to identify who they are. Sometimes businesses rebrand themselves because they want to be proactive and they want to stay fresh. Sometimes they desperately need it, they see trends they are not happy with and they are slipping in their market place. I LOVED IT! Like I said before, a BRAND is the essence of a business. A brand is what a business uses to identify themselves in the market. Consultants come in to help realign the identity. Logo, web site, business cards, marketing materials, brochures, annual reports, print ads, commercials, office environments and MOST IMPORTANTLY the brand promise…. The brand promise is the heart of the brand. The first thing a consultant will do is identify if the brand promise is still inline with the business. Usually, it’s not…

Now, why did I think I was a natural at this? Well, before we did a brand retreat, we would do thorough focus groups with employees, customers and business leaders. We would audit their graphic standards – logo, ads, etc. We would spend a whole lot of time digging into their competitors. Finally, we would take all these results and come up with our report. Now, we would go on to the retreat. At the retreat, we would basically find out that the leaders of the business really had no communication with one another and like most things, had no idea who or what they were.

Are you kidding me? It was beautiful! Businesses, are entities and those entities have SERIOUS identity issues and communication issues! Absolutely beautiful… I had so many new ideas for branding retreats! I love digging into life and trying to find out why I keep fucking up or why I do certain things so poorly. Essentially, I realized that we all have a Brand. We all have identity systems and this was a seamless crossover to what I do on a daily basis….

If you have made it this far, I applaud you. I’m fucking ramble and it’s so hard for me to communicate my thoughts. I’m usually so overwhelmed to communicate properly. So, I think it’s rad that you are still reading!

Like I said, this will be at least a three part series, but – I wanted to get into the things I have been thinking about. We all have a brand, we have a brand promise and we have identity systems. The most important thing is our brand. Our brand promise helps us keep all our identity systems in order. Do you think you could clearly outline what my brand promise is? If I had a logo what would it look like? In my graphic standards manual, could you pick out my pantone colors?

At some point in our lives, we go through our own versions of market place issues and our stock may slip. Reevaluating our brand is critical..

Over the last year, I have been toying around with my own branding philosophy. I definitely don’t want to divulge all my secrets, but think about this. What is your Brand Promise? Sometimes a brand promise is also used as a slogan: McDonalds “I’m Lovin it” – Sometimes they Don’t – NIKE = “authentic athletic performance”.. Their Slogans often help reinforce their Brand. “Elite”…

How do we identify a brand promise?
As mentioned above, a lot of research. Cold hard facts. Although, Nike has been hit with numerous issues over the years. Their brand does not reflect that. Much like how our own personal failures or short comings do not ultimately shape our brand – or who we are. Sometimes it feelings like it, but with some work, we reorganize and reposition ourselves in the market and establish a new brand promise. Many times, it takes identifying what we want to be – to help us get to the next level. But, we have to look at the research, accept all the negatives and build an honest Brand Promise. Most often than not, a new brand promise is found in the cracks of the corporate campus, the CEO and business leaders had no idea that a certain attitude was manifesting itself in the trenches and transforming their business in positive ways and with some digging, we can find that diamond in the rough. I’ve seen it numerous times, the person furthest from the board room has a better view of the business than the Directors, VP’s or CEO. Much like, how our brain [the CEO] has no clue as to what we are like at our greatest or how wonderful we have truly become. Because the CEO is constantly burdened with the realities of life and running a business. I have found that with all the people I love, none of them know what they are like at their best, or could point out their top 3 best qualities – which make up 90% of their lives / outlook. So when the shit hits the fan, it’s no wonder we ALL beat ourselves up. We often restructure, liquidate assets or lay off the very people that make our company successful. Life is funny like that…. Identify your brand. So when things seem like they are falling apart or in disarray, you can remove all subjectivity from the matter [bills, misfortune, mistakes, accidents, life… etc.] you can open a book or your wallet – and know WHO you are, when you need it most. You’re identity.

How do you start? Focus groups. Ask 3-5 of the closest people in your life, the people you love – to tell you what you are like at your best! AND, ask them what you are like at your worst. Most times, you can learn more about your brand by identify its weakness. Now, ask yourself the same questions. Don’t pull punches, let it out. Here is my favorite part – once you get the results, compare the details. You just might be surprised. Now, answer these questions for yourself: What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Where do you see opportunities in yourself? What are your threats? I’ll leave it at that til next time…

There is truly nothing worse than feeling like you don’t know who you are. With all that being said, I want to share one last secret with you. You are not your career, you are not your position in society or in a relationship, you are not a mother or father, your brand is specific to WHO you are – it’s not a role….. To identify with what you do professionally is like McDonalds Brand Promise being = “Food” rather than “I’m lovin it”. Equally, as much as it feels like sometimes, your brand is not someone else, you are not your kids, you are not your husband or wife, you are not your brother, you are not your boyfriend or girlfriend. Once you get your results back, you will have the preliminary info to get started… Now, let me tell you, there is still SO much more to do…
And honestly, I barely have any idea of who I am…