You’re A Brand, Silly. What Are Your Attributes? Who Is Your Target Audience? How Loyal Are They? You’ve Been Reading “People” Magazine When You Should Have Been Reading “American Demographics” All Along.
Now Match Your Brand With Other Complementary Components. Find A Gut-Wrenching Charity That Touches Your Target. Find A Consumer Product That Shares All Your Energy And Vivacity And Offers Tons Of Cross Promotion Opportunities.
Most Importantly, Break Out Of That Box. If You’re An Actor, Sing; If You’re A Singer, Act; And If You’re An Athlete Get On The Cover Of Vogue Magazine In A Hot Red Dress, Like Olympic Superstar Marian Jones Did, With The Help Of A Wily Publicist. Any Athlete Can Get On The Cover Of Sports Illustrated—This Is The Big Leagues.
The Goal Is To Become Multi-Faceted, Full Of Positive Attributes, And A Magnet For Respect, Fans, Work And Lucrative Commercial Endorsements. It’s Hardly Enough To Do One Thing Well Anymore.
The Secret Is To Make That Brand Something Based In Reality. A Phony Baloney Image Won’t Have Legs. It Will Be Too Hard To Fake It; The People Who Really Know You Will Realize It’s An Act; And As You Should Know: THE TRUTH SEEKS ITS OWN LEVEL You Can’t Avoid Bad Press, But You Can Be Such A Wonderful Person That The Press Isn’t Quite So Eager To Tear You Down. It’s Oprah Vs. Martha Stewart. Oprah’s Known For Helping People, Her Causes, And Her Unique Ability To Touch People. When She Got In A ‘Beef’, Millions Rushed To Her Side And The Media Gave Her The Benefit Of The Doubt. Martha Had No Such Reservoir Of Goodwill. I’m Sure She Supported Some Worthwhile Causes, But They Were Not Front And Center. It Was All About Martha And Her Millions. When Martha Traded Down, The Media Gladly Kicked Her. Why? Because: PERCEPTION IS REALITY