Having attended my very first baptism, I am
moved to confess.
People & Brands
As people we tend to get attached early on
in our lives to the warm and seldom fuzzy feeling of belonging. We belong with
our parents and family. This cute sense of belonging grows up to be a desire to
belong outside of family structures. We then belong with our friends, most of
whom our guardians warn against. It’s not long after that we feel we need to belong
to bigger and larger ideals and groups. We find belonging in how we praise and
understand creation, belonging in how we live and measure our lives and
belonging in how we define life itself. We join groups, clubs, associations and
fellowships to express our values and beliefs. The collar we wear on our necks,
the badges on our chests and the daggers up our sleeves shows others where we
stand on certain subjects without uttering a single word.
Person branding does two things. It takes
these values we associate with groups we belong to and makes it a benefit or a
feature of a product or service. Next it creates shared interest communities
around this branded experience.
Simply the ‘person brand’ takes human
experience – classifies it, groups, arranges and organises it - associates it with a something to be sold,
and then sells it.
As a result of this consumer society we love
so much we live the products we own, we breathe money and compare services as
a conversation starter. All we know to do anymore is buy. Want something new.
Buy it. Want something to wear. Order it. Want something delivered. Pay for it.
Want something, anything? Money talks. And what a filthy mouth it has.
Namaste
