I was reading a few books about branding. The branding concept comes down to a very simple idea, "Be simple and be an idea that occupies a place in people's minds."
The concept is not only for businesses and companies. A lot of people apply the concept on themselves.
I am a scientist. This "branding" is good enough for most people I come across in parties. When I talk among scientists, "what I do" becomes the new level of my "brand". For example, as a part of my work, I am supposed to give a talk in the Cancer Center this coming Friday (3/1/13) and have been working on the presentation slides. When I prepare for this kind of presentation, important thing is communication. I need to communicate "what I do" to colleagues. And the story I tell them will become my "brand," so to speak, in their heads. The story becomes "who I am" in them.
If you come to accept this concept, you'll see application of this branding process everywhere.
Let's take this example. My wife has been doing a "House MD" marathon for a while. So I have been watching many episodes of the show with her. We finally reached the finale last night. The show has been quite enjoyable.
The show's star is Dr. Gregory House. A curmudgeon/ genius medical doctor who leads his diagnostic team in a fictional New Jersey hospital. He is a character. The character does a lot of things and develops over 8 seasons. Yet, the character was so well-defined from the beginning that we can remember him easily. We can even predict what he would do in certain situations, and have fun with it.
Another example would be these comic superheros. We "know" who the Spiderman, Batman or Superman are, and what they do.
A "character" is a brand applied on a person.
The books about branding caution against being complex, not simple. When you do something that goes against your brand or do something else; this is where conflict can arise. Like Rolex selling cars instead of selling luxury watches.
Since a "brand" is a perceived idea by others, it can conflict with the intention of someone/business/company who takes the actions. Other people's perceptions (brand) are something that happens in their heads after all, and it may not reflect the "real you" as you intended. As you grow, you may start changing what you do, and it goes against your current brand and your character. You develop a new brand, or develop your depth as a character.
They say you become who you are. This concept of branding and character development can help, if you apply it to your real life.
As a scientist, I do not place wholehearted trust on someone's perception and beliefs, especially when it comes to Nature's workings. But for affairs involved with people, I see the branding concept works very well. And as a scientist, I like something that works well.
