When it comes to our personal and company brands, people and companies often have an have identity crisis at some point in their growth. When that happens, we have to pause and ask ourselves:
- Who am I/we?
- What do I/we do best?
- Who’s my target client? Or – What do I want to do with my life?
- What are my/our long term goals for my/our company?
- What do I want to be known for?
If you don’t have answers to these questions, then it’s time to do a brand audit and put your personal or company brand into context by defining your identity. You’ve got to know what makes you, your clients and their customers tick — even if you’re an individual person!
Agencies With Identities and Focus
Last week, Ad Age published their “Agency – A-List,” a guide of the best large scale advertising agencies in the world. Coming in at number four was women-owned and run Resource Interactive. What caught my attention was that this Ohio-based agency is setting itself apart because they know exactly who they and what they do.
Regularly employed by Victoria’s Secret, Limited Brands, Proactiv, Diesel and Kohls, the agency’s core competency is e-commerce solutions for clients in the retail, package goods and technology sectors. As you can see, they’re very FOCUSED in the services they provide clients. “Focus is a big part of what we’re about,” CEO Kelly Mooney told Ad Age. “We’re going to focus on the areas we can bring the most value.”
Strength Comes From Knowing Who You Are And Are Not
Last week, I had dinner with a woman I consider a friend and would go to the ends of the earth for, Erica Domesek of PS…I Made This. Erica and I are currently working on project for Teen Vogue and WWDMAGIC to bring 30 (now close to 45) fashion bloggers to Las Vegas to experience their first industry tradeshow. For this event, we’re adding a laundry list of consumer focused activities that have one goal: to create an unforgettable experience that connects 45 people that may never have met in their lives unless we’d done this.
During our planning, Erica said one of the most powerful things I’ve heard in all of 2010 and 2011 regarding herself as an entrepreneur and her brand, she said:
“I am a digital platform with a DIY media brand. My brand is aspirational, inspirational and educational for the people that follow me.”
She said this without the power of the statement she’d just uttered. I quickly scribbled them on a cocktail napkin with my purple P.S. I MADE THIS Sharpie she’d given me. Erica clearly doesn’t have an identity crisis. She knows who she is, what she wants and how she’s going to get it. This will be clearly brought to life when she graces the pages of Vogue Italia soon.
If you’re having an identity crisis, after market and fashion weeks, add a brand assessment to your spring to-do list along with the Blueprint Cleanse you’ve been considering.
by Macala Wright
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