Whenever a food product changes the label but not the innards, they always print Same Great Taste boldly wherever they can. This is shorthand for, “No, we’re not messing with something we know you like. We just wanted to pretty up the place.” Its a problem with trying to “refresh” a brand. How does this translate to people?
- People know you for what you were- No matter where you’re going, no matter how forward your thinking, most people think about you from the perspective of how THEY know you. Not even how you think you’re known, but just how THEY consider you.
- Words only go so far- You have to show that you’re doing something different, and show how people can interact with you in this new way. (By the way, this is the hardest part– if you don’t SHOW people how you should be perceived and show them the new you in operation, you still look like the “Same Great Taste” to them.)
- Touch the new brand often- If you’re going to bother getting known for something new, you have to work that angle over and over and over. You have to drive this new position forward. You have to define yourself.
- You are not your business card and you are not your logo- One mistake we often make is trusting the hype or hiding behind the premise that our card or our logo says it all. Seth Godin points to this in a funny way here. You are your brand in action. You are whatever you choose to portray. Cards are rectangular paper. One of the most memorable business cards I’ve seen in my travels just has the man’s first name in one text, his @——.net in another color, and a cell phone number. Nothing more.
You may have truly improved the product, but without a little thought and consideration to how you move forward, you might be the “Same Great Taste.”
How do you brand yourself? Or do you? What does your PERSONAL brand say?
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