So as I strolled around the Insights 2010 Wednesday evening party with co-worker Steve L. he made the comment "You really do like people to talk about your shoes". My reply was "Steve, it isn't as much about the shoes as it is about marketing/branding".
How this whole thing got started for me was many years ago preparing for an Insights presentation when I worked for Sage. My boss at the time David vanToor (DvT) was coaching me that the best way to start off a public speaking engagement was to find a way for the crowd to identify with you, as a real person, to establish rapport, best done in the form of a story. As I spent weeks thinking about what this identifier could be for me DvT suggested that I use my shoes.
From there I became known as the girl with shoes. Women would walk up to me and say "I saw this pair of shoes and thought of you". It was then that I realized that I started to develop a brand. I was delighted at new outings where I would be presenting to roll-out a new pair of shoes (like a product roll-out) to create interest and hype.
Last year's Insights 2009, Ed Kless twittered during the evening event about my shoes I was wearing (they were green silk and were quite fun). This year shoes (pictured) were white with black polka-dots and pink trim. I love them.
So the question is "Is it shoes or Branding?"
As I explained to my co-worker Steve L. it is about branding your image. For me it might be shoes, for you it might be something else.
What is your brand?
As I find myself lost lately between the work world and the rest of my life, I think the same thing often..."when will I become an asset to an organization- or myself?" I feel that being someone that a company can count on makes you worthy of having a brand. And now finding that I love working in non-profits, it is a lot about who you know to get donors. Right now, in my life, I feel..eh...I make no money and have no real title that lends me any pride. But yet I want to be that person. I want people to respect my thoughts and to be that creative, innovative person. So I get the shoes..this way people remember your name, hence they've (hopefully) listen to what you've said. My boss has a very distinctive name, money, she can talk, has balls, and is a sweet person. She is a brand. Then I look at me and my work and how I am viewed in the company (by my point of view) and I often think- maybe I don't have anything to offer like I thought I did. Just because you have a degree doesn't make you smart, which is probably my biggest fear right now. And you put it in the perfect words- it's all branding yourself. Making people know you then ultimately wanting you.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I could I be that person that walks into an interview and someone will take a chance with me, just because of my "branding?" I know it's in there. I love marketing.....and I know that in the right space I can be that person.