The Brand Called You

You as a Brand

What is a brand? A brand is a whole set of associations, expectations, memories and desires. A brand is powerful. When a young man named Ralph Lifshitz decided to establish his own high-end clothing brand, and to market it by associating it with a fantasy of yachting society, polo games and cultivated taste, one of the first things he did was change his name to Ralph Lauren. "Lifshitz" as a brand just didn’t evoke the same emotional response as "Lauren."

When Xerox tried to move from copiers into computers, its managers made the mistake of not recognizing that the Xerox brand was so strongly associated with copiers that they needed to build a new brand to launch their computer line. IBM made a somewhat similar mistake when it tried to move from mainframes into PCs. Names matter. Brands matter.

You are a brand. Your name evokes certain emotional responses, based on associations, expectations, memories and desires. Most people believe that if they have a better product or service, quicker delivery, longer durability or greater efficiency, then their product will sell itself. But it’s not true that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat...