Public Relations
A
s we take a look at you being a brand, let us
evaluate two questions.
1. If ten people from the different facets of your
life (i.e. professional, social, from the bank, your
family, your neighbours etc) were asked to
describe you, what one word would they use?
Would those words synchronise?
2. What descriptive word comes to your mind when these
brands are mentioned – Coca Cola, Apple, Nike, Fubu, Oscar
Awards, Kenya, Hawaii, Equity, Barclays, Woolworths, Mr. Price?
Would these descriptive words resonate with many people?
Building
yourself
as a Brand
Every person needs to build a reputation around themselves
especially so if they are intending to be or already are
entrepreneurs/ business owners. Consistency of this reputation
will ultimately lead to people associating a particular
reputation with that person. For example, in Kenya, Toyota is
a brand that is popularly thought to be affordable to maintain
because the spare parts are available even in the second had
market. This makes the Toyota cars be associated with the
middle class. Mercedes Benz on the other hand is considered
a luxury vehicle that is expensive to maintain therefore many
relegate it to the upper class. The truth of these perceptions is
highly debatable but the two companies have endorsed these
brands mostly by targeting the two segments. Samsung in the
phones market is known to meet the spectrum of users from
the bottom of the pyramid to the luxury market. So you can
get a Samsung phone worth $50 and you can get one worth
$800. At the same time, you will find iPhones concentrating
on only a market segment where the prices start from $400
upwards. They have distinguished themselves as a brand of
luxury and style.
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Esteemed Magazine July -August 2015