Pre-Ramble:  I’ve been torn this last week or so between blogging about brand-identity/innovation/strategy-related topics and gushing over the upcoming royal wedding (T- minus 2 days!!!).  Well, thanks to one of my London readers (right there with a front row seat on all the action), I can do both! 

Mug shot – In my last post (April 24th), I told you all about the awesome royal mug I had ordered in commemoration of the Big Day (not it at right).  As you will recall, the piece (referred to on its website by the clunky term ”tankard”), sports a very elaborate design involving swoopy looping fonts and elegant botanically inspired patterns in dusty powder blue and gold leaf. Very formal and traditional, and perfectly reflecting the very formal and traditional vibe of the royal British monarchy.

Then, ZING!  This morning in my inbox is a note from the London reader along with a link to the website of Dhub, a design agency (based in London) which has taken a new tack on royal wedding commemorative collections design.  As detailed on their site, the Dhub designers wanted to create something more “significant and modern,” … presenting “designs that take into consideration the Facebook generation, popular culture and modern design … a brand that identifies with and is relevant to the 20th century … ”

“The Royal family has changed shape and form over the years and in 2011 they appear as a totally different force from the previous years of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. The Royal family are now a global phenomenon, the press allow the public to see them in a more down to earth and human light, no longer will the Royal family be regarded as elite, they are representative of traditional British culture, but there lies the failing of the current design approach to the celebration of the Royal Wedding this year. The British culture is now about opportunity, energy, creativity, youth, style and perfection.”

One look at their crisp, engaging solutions (example shown above and on website) demonstrates that they have succeeded in a big way!  Each of the designs incorporates the royal couple’s initials (Kate’s is, of course, team favorite, a “K”!) and simple, iconic crown images rendered in combinations of Union Jack red, white and blue.  The results are just the right mix of traditional cues and “creative, youthful and vibrant” elements. 

Well done, chaps … and a timely find in light of growing sentiment that the youthful and vibrant young Prince William is potentially “in danger of over-shadowing his far less popular father, Prince Charles,” the next in line for the throne.  Anthony Faiola at the Washington Post describes the challenges ahead for the “idiosyncratic Prince Charles,” citing recent public opinion polls that reveal a popularity gap between father and son … 46% percent of respondents believe that Prince Charles should step aside. 

The Take-Away:  At this point, matters around succession to the crown are protected by law; nonetheless, the dichotomy represents an interesting dilemma for the royal “brand” and highlights the value of relevance in a constantly evolving world and marketplace.  “Brand William” would be nothing without the foundational heritage established by the kings and queens who have worn the crown before him, however, it is the British monarchy that will be irreparably diminished if they fail to embrace, in some meaningful way, this free pass into ”creative, youthful and vibrant” royal relevance for the 21st century.

Post-Note:  Thanks for the tip, London reader! (And if you happen to score a snappy photo of the royal K & W, feel free to send that over as well!!)

Pre-Ramble:  If you want to be a player in this age of long-tail specialization you’ve got to have a “focus” … “content area expertise” … an “identity” … You’ve got to be a “brand.” (And, if you’re Russell Brand, you get to be a Brand brand … ). 

These days, a unique, focused and snappy “presence” is what it takes to gain traction around your agenda. Brand-identity expert Alina Wheeler discusses the evolution of “the brand” in terms of competition for recognition on an individual level … 

“In the competition for recognition, … the battle for physical territory has evolved into the competition for share of mind, … every business [is concerned with] the brand imperative, and even individuals are challenged … to become walking brands.”

Face it, in today’s “velocity of life,” if you don’t have your “elevator speech” polished, practiced and poised, you can pretty much forget about being hired for work, or, at the very least, being memorable in any meaningful way. (Could there be anything more tragic than unrealized memorability?)

Luckily, there are lots of books and businesses out there to help you define yourself personally, professionally, visually, narratively, digitally, virtually …  Writer and business management guru Tom Peters leaves no exclamation point unused in his pointed, free-style, motivational   tome, “Brand You: Fifty Ways to Transform Yourself from an Employee into a Brand that Shouts Distinction, Commitment and Passion!”  Brace yourself for a barrage of pithy (if slightly dated) thought-bites on the new Brand You, like …

• Getting started now: Perform a Personal Brand Equity Evaluation. … And, create a Yellow Pages ad for … you. ( … a what?)
• We need a snapshot: What does Brand You “look” like? “Feel” like?
• The Brand You currency: WOW Projects!
• Commit yourself fully to The Project Life.
• “Inc.” yourself. Mindset: I AM A COMPANY.
• You ARE your Rolodex! … ( … your what?)

K.I. S. S. … Keep It Simple Stupid … Less is more … Others, like the brothers Heath, Chip and Dan, authors of “Made to Stick,” (2007) discuss the properties of memorable, marketable ideas that ”capture people’s attention … and hold it.”  Chip ’n’ Dan claim that the more simple and pared down a concept or idea, the easier it is to understand and remember. Their advice — pick ONE THING, and go with it!

Hmmm … Mother Nature bears this out – most critters have a designated skill-set. Take the honey bee for example, … There are distinctive yellow and black stripes and that whole buzzing thing, … but in terms of primary products and services, they’re all about nectar procurement and processing, with pollination as a by-product. That’s it. You don’t see honey bees diversifying into air travel, insurance, or the cornbread business.

But what about individuals with more than one strong skill-set?  How do multi-faceted folks pare down to their essence in order to generate buzz?  Take Leonardo Da Vinci for example …. Painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, scientist, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, writer … Here is a guy who is widely considered to be one of the most “diversely talented persons ever to have lived.”  Italian historian Giorgio Vasari gushes … 

 ”In the normal course of events many men and women are born with remarkable talents; but occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvellously endowed by Heaven with beauty, grace and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind, all his actions seem inspired and indeed everything he does clearly comes from God rather than from human skill. Everyone acknowledged that this was true of Leonardo da Vinci, an artist of outstanding physical beauty, who displayed infinite grace in everything that he did and who cultivated his genius so brilliantly that all problems he studied he solved with ease.”

How does a transcendent “archetype of the Renaissance man” pick ONE THING, and go with it?

The Take-Away:  I think there’s value in crafting a simple, resonant brand-identity in today’s marketplace. I just hope that people like Leonardo break out every now and then to show us what else they’ve got.  

Post-Note:  I got to wondering about what Leonardo would do to promote his brand in the 21st Century?  … Go on Stephen Colbert to talk about hydrodynamics? … Chat with Piers Morgan on the scandal surrounding his uncompleted “Adoration of the Magi“? … Dish on Oprah about his BFF Machiavelli?  Surely he’d be a featured speaker at TED, … Would the “Mona Lisa” have a fan page?

Pre-Ramble: There is a lot of buzz and quite a few books out there that promote the value of “branding” yourself as a way to attract recognition and business. I just don’t know about that. As a dedicated “intuitive thinker” who delights in the pursuit of random stuff, the idea of nailing myself down to a single focus is more than a little scary.

Well, so, by ”branding,” of course, I don’t mean scorching your backside with a hot metal “K.” I mean representing yourself to others — who you are, what you do and what you are about in a specific and consistent way.  Beyond a title or symbol, a brand is a holistic summation of the character of a person or entity — its personality or reputation.

Brands of businesses are all around us … the bold FedEx letter forms, the Nike swoosh, the little blue Twitter bird, the Target … target, the Apple … apple … They all have a distinct look and feel … they all have a unique differentiated point of view.  Alina Wheeler discusses the many dimensions of “brand”  in Designing Brand Identity (2003) …

There is substantial evidence that companies whose employees understand and embrace the brand are more successful. What began as “corporate culture” under the auspices of human resources is fast becoming branding, and the marketing department runs the show; … each touchpoint is an opportunity to strengthen a brand and to communicate about its essence; … brand identity increases awareness and builds business.” 

I get it. I can see the value there. The more people recognize you/your brand for what you “do,” the more likely they are to seek you out when they need someone to do that for them (… or with them … to them … whatever).  I am so all over this in the business world. I believe that businesses who are able to articulate a clear consistent message about who they are and what they do are ideally positioned to attract meaningful (and prosperous) business opportunities. So, I guess it is no small stretch to apply this same principle to the individual.  At any given time, in any given place, you as an individual may be called upon to perform as the brand that you are.

I guess what that means is, that at any given moment ”you” are a potential business … or a potential business opportunity.  By establishing a consistent set of attributes, skill sets, a look and a feel for yourself, … you are constantly marketing yourself in the world marketplace. I guess that’s the big hairy deal about the “new social media” venues – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. In launching a Home Page, or a Profile, or even a blog (!), you are, for better or for worse, putting yourself out there as a brand. Yikes – no pressure there.

The dilemma I have is, if in order to successfully be “a brand,” you have to forsake the enticing array of random very-cool-stuff that lurks around so many corners, it that worth it?  Creativity and its kissin’ cousin, innovation, are made from the very stuff of random collisions/conjunctions of things and ideas. So, does a guy have to sacrifice the capacity to think big, out-there thoughts for the privilege of having a successful business or personal brand?  (How do the folks whose brand is that they Think Big Out-There Thoughts make that work?)

The Take-Away: Doomed.  If I need to be together enough to align my appearance, environment, family members, pets, possessions, activities, attitudes, disposition and every confounded twittering thought in my head with my designated “brand,” …

… JUST SHOOT ME NOW.