Post #7: Packaging Your Brand

Hello there,

For this post, I’m going to test out another metaphor. Continuing to view a person as a product, I have tried to relate four product attributes to the product that is you and your ideas. I think packaging lends a particularly interesting perspective.

Branding

It has come up in previous posts. In fact, just a couple posts ago I wrote about my own personal brand. I think the core of branding is understanding who you are and what you have to offer. To use Karen Kang’s example, the largest part of branding is the cake. Now I’ll move on to the icing. But before that, click on the picture for one of my favorite moments in cartoon history.

Packaging

The icing starts with how you present yourself, and, even more importantly, if you present yourself. In my experience, I've observed that many people don’t like to and sometimes dread talking about their ideas. I used to be one of those people, just ask my family. I never liked to talk very much. My sister would even get frustrated with me because I would never talk about my day at school in any detail. “How was your day, Tim?” “Good.” “What’d you do?” “Nothing really. Just had my regular classes and then practice.” “What did you learn in class today?” “Oh, not much.”etc.

It was a painstaking process just to get me to give any detail about anything. My dad, on the other hand, will tell you all sorts of information without even being asked a question. I’ll call home some nights and he’ll just start taking about his day. So how do you package yourself? Are you like an ink cartridge where someone will inevitably need to find scissors before they even try to open? Or are you like a bag of chips?

If you are reluctant to communicate your good ideas to others, your good ideas will not be communicated to others – not too good. So, my big point here is to be conscious of opportunities to share information with others. Provide details, don’t wait until the third or fourth question to say what you want to say – you might not even get that many chances. Even more of a problem is that you might not want that many questions. In that case, you are in need of a larger perspective change or more confidence that your ideas are good. At any rate, be mindful of your packaging and how accessible you make your brand to others.

Labeling

Similar to packaging, I’d say labeling is the idea of how inviting you make yourself appear, and how you dress. Consistency is important. You never know who you might meet during any particular day. Think about it.

Product Support Services

This concept is not nearly as applicable because it is basically defined by customer service after a purchase. What I will relate it to is staying in touch with “customers” after you have talked with them about your “product”. Don’t be afraid to ask for an email address (or find it) and try to stay in touch with people who express an interest in your ideas. After I concluded my high school career, I sent an email to nearly every teacher I had had since preschool, to express my gratitude and my future plans. I still hear about that today because they appreciated it so much. The main point is not that I’m some goody two-shoes, it’s that staying connected is important and that generally people like being connected – look at Facebook or LinkedIn.

So keep identifying what your ideas are, make sure you have accessible packaging, present yourself consistently, and know that people like to hear about new ideas. I think the packaging piece is particularly worth thinking about.

Until next time,

Tim