♫ Did they warn you, better shape up if you want to succeed? ♫

A song that has always inspired my persona is “Twilight Galaxy” by Metric. It’s not so much the song itself that inspired me as much as the story behind it.

The lead singer, Emily Haines, started a side project called Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton in 2006. This band channeled the sadness, anger, and loss that she had experienced recently, and such was how the band was branded.

Smart marketing move considering that she didn’t want to steer Metric away from its more upbeat nature and divert its loyal fan base built in a span of over a decade. Somewhat like how Toyota has Lexus to cater to the high-end market without interfering with its affordable, middle-class brand.

So what started off as a seemingly normal concert in Toronto on a seemingly normal evening in 2008 ended as a marketing nightmare. In the middle of performing a song, Emily abruptly stopped and said “I don’t want to play these songs anymore”.

Again, this is as if the CEO of Toyota said at the unveiling of a new Lexus line, “I don’t want to make these cars anymore.” Like I said, marketing nightmare.

And so was the death of Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton and the birth of ‘Fantasies’, the album heralded as Metric’s best to date. The reason for its success is quite simple: it represented the band’s brand in the purest form.

Whether it’s musical, corporate, or personal, branding is all the same. It’s the reputation, personality, and character that we each aim to represent.

Loyalty is most likely the most crucial aspect of your personal brand. You can change jobs, live in different places, even change your name, but your brand should always be the consistent factor in your life.

Here’s a breakdown of my personal brand as an eccentric marketing apprentice:

· Eccentric: Definition – deviating from the recognized or customary character. This just defines my personality; I just want attention whether it’s through my antics or my work.

· Marketing: My passion, my career, my goals revolve around this subject. In this instance, I’ve already whittled down what I want to do and can gain attention from people (ahem, employers) looking for this skill.

· Apprentice: As an undergrad student, I’m still learning. As an entrepreneur, you never stop learning and improving.

Collectively, my personal brand always allows me to grow within it, which motivates me to stay loyal. And coming from a commitaphobe, trust me, if my brand were a fabric, it’d probably be spandex.

http://keansocialmedia.blogspot.com