There’s something I don’t understand.  If you’re a freelancer or an independent businessperson, why would your Web site or your marketing collateral consistently refer to “We” and “Our” (as in OUR services include… and WE are located in…, etc.)?  Is it a ploy to “sound” bigger than you are? Is this a self confidence thing? I just don’t get it.

I was contacted by a Web programmer the other day and, while at first blush, I was very impressed with his skills and portfolio; I was instantly turned off by the fact that he constantly referred to himself in the third person and as a plural.  Statements like “We have the most economical pricing…” and “Our clients have seen exponential return…” made me feel like I was being pitched by an account rep from some global conglomerate.

As the conversation continued I asked some simple (revealing) questions. “Who does the actual programming of your sites?” and  (amazingly enough) “Where are your offices?” came back with the answers me and my basement, respectively.

Insert Scooby-Doo “WTH” sound here…

So, within the first two minutes of our conversation, this poor guy went from impressive designer/developer to liar.  If he was willing to deceive me about the size of his “company,” what else was he willing to lie about? Sure, he (eventually) told the truth about being independent and working from his basement, but the perception that really stuck with me was the disconnect from “outward” portrayal and “actual” existence.

My advice to independent contractors struggling to position yourselves in this big, bustling world:  Keep the basic rules of TRUE Branding in mind at all times.

Be Truthful
Be Relevant
Be Unique
Be Engaging

Simple!

“Truthful” is the base criteria because it’s the most important.  If you have to make up statistics or create personae to make yourself feel/seem bigger, you’ve already failed.  If you’re an independent, tell your prospects.  If you outsource work to “partners,” make it clear. 

As a contractor, I would much rather work with a single, honest, independent genius than a million sub-par liars.

Don’t try to be (or even imply) something you’re not. And if you’ve gained enough weight to be considered “plural” then you need to call Jenny Craig.

Just food for thought…

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Music is part of my personal brand.  I’ve written about it before. But for the last six months I’ve created quite a significant illustration of that particular personal brand trait.

As a little joke/hat-tip to my friend, Terry Starbucker, I started tweeting about what was rolling off of my iPod.  Some times it was in the middle of the day.  Some times it was after lunch.  But after a few weeks, I realized most of my melodic tweets took place first thing in the morning.

Why?

Music DRIVES me.  I don’t care if it’s the classic William Tell Overture or a smooth George Michael track, or even the mind-bending, screaming Velvet Revolver; music is never far from my ears.  It’s part of my brand.

So, virtually every morning, from early September 2009, to this morning, I have turned on my iPod and the first song (sometimes the second or third - ’cause who wants to get going to The Wiggles or Raffi?) that rolls off the virtual turntable becomes my “Get-Going groove of the day.”

Music moves me.  And strange enough, I’ve found many of YOU have responded as well. Countless times, I’ve been asked to provide play-lists of my grooves.  I’ve burnt a quite a few of CDs for friends. And I realize The Get-Going groove of the day has touched more than my own personal brand.  Heck, I get emails and direct messages if I’ve forgotten, or the groovy tweet has been delayed even a half hour, so someone has been affected…

So here you go.  The first volume of The Brand Chef’s Get-going groove of the day is listed below. (Tracks/links and Tweets!)

ENJOY!

Piggies - The Beatles:
My Get-Going groove of the day (Saturday Edition): LINK - I’m not sure what’s more disturbing… the song or the video… WOW.

Brick House - The Commodores:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK - Lionel before he went to the dark side… WHAT A GROOVE FOR FRIDAY! Have a GREAT DAY!

It Hurts Me Too - Eric Clapton:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK - Great attitude tune for the gloomy day! Grrrrrrrr!

Jump Jive An’ Wail - Brian Setzer Orchestra:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK — came up on the iPod on the treadmill Sunday… So, I cranked the pace to 9! (dumb)

Carry on Wayward Son - Kansas:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK — great 70’s “rock your soul” motivation —> ’nuff said…

Soul Vaccination - Tower of Power:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK Since my arm STILL hurts from yesterday’s flu shot… Time to get FUNKY!

Here I Am - Lyle Lovett:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK - only album I’ve ever purchased that is remotely close to country… The guy has STYLE!

Life is Wonderful - Jason Mraz:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK - One of my new favorite songs… Something to remember EVERY DAY!

Battle of Who Could Care Less - Ben Folds Five:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK — Okay Monday, take that…

Pump It Up - Elvis Costello:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK - the week is almost over… Maybe Elvis can help us get there?

Rock and Roll is Dead - Lenny Kravitz:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK — A little gritty groove for the Monday blues… Get up and get moving!

Basket Case - Green Day:
My Get-Going groove of the day : LINK A little pop-punk in the hope that this will clear the gloom from the morning. And GO!

Working Man - Rush:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK … kind of appropriate on a day like today?

Bicycle Race - Queen:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK — so much innuendo for so early on a Monday morning… ?

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m yours - Stevie Wonder:
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK — Classic Stevie…

Something - Paul McCartney (Concert for George):
My Get-Going groove of the day: LINK - From the Concert for George … Watch the whole video… Heartbreaking & inspiring.

I’ll continue to post the Get-going groove of the day - every day possible - to my Twitter and Facebook accounts.  Why?  ‘Cause every day needs a little groove… So stay tuned (every day around 8am) for more!

Until next time…

Keep Cooking! (tasty tunes to tickle your tail lights…)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Our pledge of allegiance mentions something about being “One Nation,” and being, “Indivisible,” right?  Unfortunately, it’s been so long since I’ve heard it, I may have to check my facts on that.

After watching the State of the Union address, I had to reflect on how, with ironic timing, President Obama’s points called out the divisiveness and partisan wrangling that has burdened our government.  Opening his speech, he offered a basic testimony to the past struggles our nation faced and how solutions were made:

“And despite all our divisions and disagreements, our hesitations and our fears, America prevailed because we chose to move forward as one nation, as one people.”

One Nation… Right?

I sensed his frustration. His pleas to each side of the isle were compelling.

“To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town — a supermajority — then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it’s not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions. So let’s show the American people that we can do it together.”

(You can read the full State of the Union address here.)

And here’s how I turn this into a post about marketing…

As I listened to Obama, I almost felt as if he’d read my last blog post about good branding being in the eye of the beholder. (President Obama, if you’d like to comment, that’d be great!)

My underlying plea from that post was about being stronger as a marketing communications community.  It was about stopping the finger pointing and accusations of inadequacy.  It was about stopping the abuse of those trying to do good for their clients and being more aware and supporting the community we all try to make a living in.

Whether you consider them a competitor, a colleague, an associate or even an enemy; solely pointing out what’s wrong with a campaign, plan or design does nothing productive.  Does it offer benefit to your clients?  Does it offer benefit for their clients?

How does it reflect on your own brand?

So, for those of you working in, for, around, or on behalf of a client – ANY client, maybe this will help:

“I pledge allegiance to the Brand and the value proposition of our Client; and for the return for which we aim, one agency (or Nation), under God, caffeine crazed, with creativity and reward for all.”

Say that every morning, with your hand over your heart, as you stare at the coffee maker.  Maybe it will help remind you that we’re all in this to support the clients and our community. We’re all in this to make a better world for our children.  But most of all, we’re all in this together.

One Nation…

Keep Cooking (TRUE benefit for all)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

(or…  lighten up already)

Tell me, just who does your brand relate to?

Good branding is subjective.  “A good brand” is completely based on the perspective of its target audience.

One group of people can stand in a room and rip a brand from head-to-toe for everything from disconnected positioning, to poor logo design to poor packaging design.  While, at the same time, another group standing the room next door, can praise the brand for touching some place in their hearts - moving them to tears, changing their lives for ever.

Understanding that, shouldn’t we really be focusing on those that the brand is trying to target? Who really cares about the nay-sayers in the first room?  The brand is obviously positioning itself for those in the second room.  It RELATES to them.  The strategy was crafted for them…

Some of you are saying, yeah…  well, duh! Well, I’m thinking that some others out there aren’t listening so much to the subjective aspect.

There’s a lot of brand hate going on out there.  And for what reason?  Because it doesn’t relate to you?  Well my question is, “Who are you?”

Honestly, if I didn’t like the husband of my wife’s best friend, would it be smart to go through the trouble to write a post or tweet about it?  Would I run down the street yelling, “So-n-so’s husband is a pock-faced, ignorant, toothpick of a man and has no right to be married to her!”

I think not.  Not only would it be unwarranted, but it would reflect VERY poorly on my personal brand as to be labeled a shallow “hater.”

Humph…

Why do you think “Relevant” is the second required criteria of the TRUE Branding process (besides the fact it helped spell “True”…)? TRUE Branding is simply a framework for brand discovery.  It’s a list of conceptual criteria that we should judge every brand against.  If a particular brand isn’t TRUE to you, it may not mean that it’s not TRUE to others.

So, lighten up already.

Before you start criticizing a brand for “missing the point,” maybe you need to check to see if YOU were actually the target.

Also, as so appropriately Tweeted by our friend @RendaInDSM this morning:

“Tigger is all right, really,” said Pooh lazily. “Of course he is,” said Christopher Robin. “Everybody is really.” -A.A. Milne

Food for thought.

Keep Cooking (TRUE, objective perspectives)!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

A thought came to my mind this morning.  It was in relation to a “Get-Going Groove of the day” post I made about Jaco Pastorius.

“Are you good or are you damn good?”

He was a troubled musician that had a talent that was second to none. He changed the world of music.  He changed electric bass.

He completely altered jazz for ever because he was DAMN good. He embodied unmatched creative innovation. (All before the age of 35.)

Take a look / listen here (from the early 1980’s & well worth the 9:41):
(Facebookers and feed readers, click on this link to see the video.)

Because of his amazing talent and passion for his trade/art, he was able to move mountains – just look at some of the “shout outs” in his bio.

But he was troubled.  An addict.  A broken soul…  And he was taken from us too soon.

So, what’s the connection?

Jaco Pastorius’ track helped me realize there is a difference between just being good and being DAMN good.

If you’ve ever asked yourself any of the following questions:

“Is there more?  What kind of impact will I have?  What legacy will I leave for my children - the world?”

you may want to ask yourself…

Are you good or are you DAMN good?

When I say DAMN good, I mean do you simply do what is expected or do you innovate?

Do you clock in and do your work to get from point A to point B?  Or do you utilize your talent, your passion, to change the perspective of those around you?  Do you make the world better for yourself - for others?

Jaco Pastorius, through the pain, loneliness and mind-numbing distortion of addiction, left the world a better place.  He took the one thing that seemed to make him happy and worked it to its pinnacle, a mark to which the rest of the music world would measure themselves against.

This leads to a few final questions:

“How can you take your current situation and become more like Jaco Pastorius?  How can you take your passion to a level that further defines you, your career and solidifies your future?”

Food for thought.

Keep Cooking (innovation over stagnation)!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef