Personal Brand Value: Another “Brand” soon to be diminished?

We’ll here we go again…if it wasn’t bad enough that someone that I believed to be one of the real stand-up guys in sports, Tiger Woods, had his life and his “Personal Brand Value” implode publically—we have another impending disaster on the way—if someone doesn’t ride to the rescue.

One of the hidden benefits to my recent marriage is that I am the “new” father of a now 8-year old darling girl named Jenna. She’s an amazing young girl and reminds me a lot of my first-born, Jennie. Having Jenna in my life is a window to the world of an entirely forgotten brand audience: I’d simply grown beyond them and their influence. As a result, I now know who Selena Gomez and even Sponge Bob are!

One of Jenna’s favorite media outlets is the Disney Channel. Disney is a great, well-recognized brand, though I think they struggle with the urge at times to be all things to all people. One of Jenna’s favorite shows has been Hannah Montana, which stars a very talented young lady named Miley Cyrus. Miley is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, (of Achy-Breaky Heart fame—oye, don’t get me started). Miley simply has become her own little cottage industry: she and her Hannah Montana character are a multi-million-to-billion dollar enterprise.

But all good things must come to an end, and the pre-teen Miley has now grown up. As a result, Miley decided that part of “finding herself” is to do things like a questionable photo-shoot in Vanity Fair and to add some more edgy and risqué features to her live shows. Hey, I understand she’s growing up: I was a teenage boy once too, so believe me, I understand.

But in the recent issue of Harper’s Bazaar, she states that, “… she’s not someone’s parent.” Meaning she’s not a role model or responsible for how what she does is imitated or emulated by her teen fans. It harkens back to the days when Charles Barkley, the gregarious, trash-talking Hall of Fame NBA star proclaimed, even in an ad, “I am not a role model.”

Miley, Charles, Brittany, Lindsay…guess what? You are! Whether you like it or not …and too bad. You wanted to be the star. Your wanted public adoration and all that came with it. Well, be careful, you just might get what you asked for.
What celebrities fail to understand, especially today’s crop, is that who you are, what you stand for and how you present yourself does matter and it comes with the turf. Celebs want all the pluses at no cost of the minuses. Wouldn’t we all.

But that’s not how it is. Unless you want a “bad boy” or “naughty girl image”, do not present yourself otherwise or prepare for the backlash. No one is above that simple marketing precept. And no one found out they weren’t immune more hardly or quickly, than Tiger.

The morale of this story is that the same holds true with brands we deal with daily. They are presented or positioned to us in a way that we buy into, believe in and make a part of our own identity, so much so that we are devastated when they betray us. Look at how the world reacted when, for the first time ever in history, the #1 brand changed their formula to be more like the #2 brand. Coke vs. Pepsi. Coke is THE most ubiquitous brand known worldwide. The betrayal felt by their lifelong fans shook the earth all the way to the hallways in Atlanta. Just like we were all shaken by Tiger and sadly, just like how I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop for Miley Cyrus.

I like Miley Cyrus. I think she’s very talented, and I hope she will make the right decisions about where she takes her “personal brand image” and its value. If she doesn’t get a good circle of advisors, (much like a company has advertising agencies, brand development gurus and trusted consultants to understand, live and breathe the brand), I am fearful that Miley will become the next running joke on TMZ. Let’s hope not and let’s hope for better.

A tribute to a man and his brand.

This week’s blog is dedicated to a man who really believed in the power and meaning of his brand.

Allan Gantt passed away last week. He was a young man at 64 years old and a very dear friend of my wife, Jodi.

A born leader, he served our country and was awarded a Purple Heart and most impressively, a Bronze Star which is the fourth-highest U.S. Armed Forces award a soldier serving our country can receive. He also proved to be a leader in his chosen profession of real estate where the list of his achievements, accolades and elected offices in the North Orange County Association, California Association and National Association of REALTORS® would take much longer to recite than this blog could hold. One thing Allan firmly believed in was the value, importance and power of the REALTOR® brand and the ‘R’ that identifies a member of their local, state and national association. Allan wore his REALTOR® lapel pin religiously everyday whether he was going to the grocery store, an open house or an industry meeting…and didn’t understand why other people wouldn’t.

Allan believed in what the REALTOR® brand stood for: doing better, doing more, and treating people ethically when they were going through the most complicated and most valued transaction they might ever engage in. He carried that same belief into every aspect of his life. He believed wearing the REALTOR® ‘R’ lapel pin distinguished him and showed peopled just who he was: A man of honor and a professional who subscribed to a Code of Ethics, much like he subscribed to a code of honor in the military.

Allan never lost that sense of honor in dealing with his clients, or advising and mentoring young professionals in the business, or in fighting for homeowner rights when he visited the statehouse or Capitol Hill or how he treated his friends.
Allan always felt it was an honor to serve his country, and an honor to wear the REALTOR® ‘R’ lapel pin. It separated him from ordinary agents and he believed that well beyond the day he left this life.

I didn’t know Allan for as long as a lot of the attendees at the standing room only service I attended this week. I met him several times and he was always friendly, offering a open hand in friendship. I knew he loved his wife, Diane; he loved his profession and the people he interacted with daily. I didn’t know Allan was a hero in so many ways. We, who knew Allan; who he was and what he stood for are better people for our time with him. Everyone who knew him will miss him.

This past Tuesday, Allan Gantt, father, soldier, patriot, husband, mentor, friend and REALTOR®, was laid to rest. He could have chosen to have his Purple Heart and his Bronze Star accompany him into eternity. But Allan chose to have only the REALTOR ‘R’ pinned over his heart. We wanted it that way; he insisted on it.