I’ve been hearing it for some time now. From people at my former place of employment. From folks at other agencies, digital shops, et al. During round tables and conferences. They keep referring to people as brands.
Huh? Brands? Really?
So if I don’t like a particular person, er brand, do they have a customer service department I can call to complain? Or should I just report them to the Better Business Bureau?
Sorry all you designer eyeglass wearing, deftly coifed head-mop advertising honchos filled with self-importance. I’m not a brand. I’m a person.
I’m a person. A human being. One with a heart, feelings, insecurities, pulse, dreams, busted nose, rational thought, faults, opposable thumbs, and all the other things that make me, me.
A brand, says Merriam Webster, is: a class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer. (So would that make my parents my manufacturer?)
Brands are things. Inanimate things that I give context to so people can purchase them if there's a need. Or not.
Just because I blog, and twitter, and have a website, and learn new ways to communicate to people, and master new computer programs does not mean I’m building Brand Don.
I’m just trying to make myself a better person. Someone who may be more employable, yes. But someone who is naturally curious and wants to learn about the world and what’s possible.
Must you give everyone a title. Can’t they just be a person?
No comments:
Post a Comment