Don ' t Let Your Brand Attract the Wrong Kind Of Attention
BRANDING
By Dana Zilic & Gair Maxwell
Once upon a time , there used to be a saying in the 20th century that went like this : Any press is good press . Any publicity is good publicity . The genie is out of the proverbial bottle . The toothpaste is out of the tube . Here in the 21st century , things are NEVER going back to the way they were .
As far back as 1972 , the economist Herbert A . Simon coined the phrase “ The Attention Economy ”. Professor Simon argued that Attention was the “ bottleneck of human thought ,” limiting where we can selectively and recklessly shift our focus . In the digital age , the dizzying wealth of information we ’ re now subjected to has created a poverty of attention . In or daily scrolling , we all drive like maniacal data drunkards at the speed of light .
For any business and brand , getting noticed and earning Attention is every bit as vital as water and air to a human . Fundamentally , Attention = Currency . The more favorable public Attention you get , the more clients , customers and candidates appear knocking at your door . However , in a cancel culture world , the WRONG kind of attention - where anyone can weigh in with a keystroke - will destroy a reputation in less than 24 hours . It ’ s not an exaggeration to say that a reputation that may have taken 20 , 30 or 40 years to build can be annihilated overnight .
There is , however , a solution to prevent this kind of brand-killing cataclysm .
A solution that can be distilled into a single 8-letter word : Identity
When you unequivocally know who you are – beyond your products and services – you will always have the comfort of being on the right track with your marketing and branding efforts . You won ' t be drawn in , fooled , tempted , or made to feel guilty into giving up your values and principles . The decisions you make about messaging in the social media space will be made with confidence that your Reputation will always be protected by a bullet-proof Identity that can stand the test of time .
Craft a Powerful Brand Identity
In Chapter 7 of my book , Big Little Things , take a much deeper dive and discover what ’ s required to create a brand identity that can be captured in 2-6 words . An Identity fully aligned with your core beliefs . One that provides a consistent foundation for all of your public communication . One of the best examples of what that looks like right now is happening daily at Calgary based Charlesglen Toyota , “ Alberta ’ s Celebration Destination ”. Each day , this local car dealership is posting stories , pictures , and videos of different moments and occasions to celebrate . It could be National Bring Your Pet to Work Day , Jerry Seinfeld ’ s birthday , the 50th anniversary of the moon landing , National One Hit Wonder Day , or International Talk Like a Pirate Day .
With a firm knowledge of knowing WHO they are in terms of their Identity , Charlesglen Toyota conveys with unwavering consistency the types of stories that reflect two key considerations :
1 . Their own values and shared beliefs .
2 . Content that aligns with the wants , needs , and desires of their audience .
Under no circumstances are they offering opinions or content related to political , social , and cultural issues
completely unrelated to their brand Identity . Consequently , they avoid the many pitfalls and unpredictable landmines that can be stepped on via a single Tweet .
Safeguard Your Reputation with Unshakable Identity
Unfortunately , many well-known American brands have discovered the opposite is also true . The very public destruction we have all witnessed for various reasons these last several weeks are now regarded as the ultimate in cautionary tales . Warren Buffet once stated , “ It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it . If you think about that , you ' ll do things differently ."
Certain public reputation issues might not be fixable . Unmitigated PR disasters are absolutely preventable if top level leadership had absolute clarity on their brand Identity in the first place .
Your brand Identity is far too valuable to be outsourced , promoted or pitched by a social media “ influencer ”. It cannot be found , fabricated or selected off any trendy or traditional , one-size fits-all marketing rack .
It can only fully emerge when leaders armed with ample curiosity have the courage to discover , tell and live a brand story uniquely and entirely their own .
When you embrace your Identity , you unleash your destiny . www . aamdhq . org OCTOBER 2023 TRENDS | 25