Personal Brand Equity

You do not have to be a celebrity in order to derive worth for your personal brand. You go to job interviews, and when the potential employer rates your experience and what you present to them. The decision to either employ you or how much they will pay you, is all based on your brand equity.Whether it is a product brand or a personal brand; both can me measured, and, as a result, there is some amount of worth or equity to all brands. However, personal brand equity is what we will explore.
As we delve into this topic, perhaps it will be important to clarify the distinction between brand value and brand equity. "Brand value is the net present value of future cash flows from a branded product minus the net present value of future cash flows from a similar unbranded product—or, in simpler terms, what the brand is worth to management and shareholders. Brand equity is a set of perceptions, knowledge and behaviour on the part of customers that creates demand and/or a price premium for a branded product—in other words, what the brand is worth to a customer. Brand equity may also be defined as a set of elements such as brand associations, market fundamentals and marketing assets that help distinguish one brand from another". This distinction is provided by Munish Kumar Tiwari an Assistant Professor in the MBA Department at Anand Engineering College.
It is not a secret that some personalities command more respect than other; for examples sake, Tiger Woods (one of the world's best golfer of all time), was to request a meeting with the President of the US Barak Obama. There are high chances of the President considering the visit. On the other hand, if an ordinary individual was to make the same request. The probability of the request to not even reaching the President is much higher. And, why is this? because Tiger Woods brand equity is much higher than the ordinary Joe in the street.
It is important to note that, not only does brand equity increase because of one being just good at your craft; but, to increase your brand equity takes effort beyond your craft. I am sure there are other golfers who are currently playing better than Tiger Woods, but, why is he well known and acclaimed more? We have seen him as brand ambassador for the wrist watch label and on other endorsements. All these efforts and contributions helped increase his brand equity. And now he is worth more than just an ordinary professional golfer. On and off the golf pitch, he is world renowned.
The mechanisms used to measure a personal brand will not be discussed, however, it is evident and important to understand that personal brands have earnings, and, are worth taking care of.

Authenticity: The essence of personal branding

"To thine own self be true" said Polonius to his son Laertes. Steve Jobs, reiterated similar words, though phrased differently, said he: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Philosophers explained this phenomenal of authenticity in two ways:

First, there is our outer authenticity – how well what we say and do matches what is really going on inside us.
Second, there is our inner authenticity – how well we actually know ourselves and are aware of our inner states.
Authenticity stems from one's core believes, value systems, norms and to some extend culture plays a part in creating this identity and authenticity.

For a long time, consumer brands have tried to remain original as they would like to call it; through the use of registered trademarks, logo and so forth. All in an attempt to provide a clear distinction between counterfeit products and that which is authentic. Besides the fact that authenticity is one of the factors that provide differentiation amongst products, brands and people. What else does authenticity bring with it as benefits?

Authenticity can become a core of what you are or what a brand stands for; through authenticity, a set of perceptions are formed about a person or product brand. Since it is assumed that authenticity comes from within (referring to humans), this drives a set of values around a certain behaviour of an individual.
How is this authenticity built? Well, since it is something that comes from within, you can only build it, once you have identified what are those characteristics, that are unique to you, and then, be able to use them to your advantage. It is about finding out and understanding who you are. This can be done by asking yourself the basic childlike questions: Who am I? What do I value the most? What is my purpose in life? What makes me happy? Once you have honestly been able to answer these questions, try to live up to these ideals. And make yourself know for that which you hold close to your heart. Work towards those things that are still lacking in your character, but, you would like to be a part of you. Through this process, you are well on your way to identifying your personal brand and building it. Just like a consumer brand, a strong personal brand can earn you dividends. However, you would need to know and identify communication channels, which will help you be in touch with those you need to reach and influence. Thanks, to social media. That process of allowing your personal brand to have high reach is somewhat easier.
This phenomenon of using authenticity as a differentiator, is currently making some of the South African brands thrive in various markets which they compete in. Think of the Restaurant in the famous Vilakazi Street in Soweto, called Vuyo restaurant. The famous chillas & eat-out place was even used in one of SAB product brand TV commercial for Hansa Pilsener. Vuyo's restaurant has now become one of the leading authentic African-cuisine restaurants globally. "To thine own self be true", and you will stand out.

Brand government through Effective communication

 

 

Brand is often associated with products, as a result, commercial companies recognise the need to building strong brand(s) to increase their competitive level; verses the government that focuses on service delivery. Most if not all government departments objective is to provide service to the people and more often not to make a profit. And it is at this point where we ask: Can brand add value to government? Is government competing with any other company? How will this exercise of brand building be done in a government setting, seeing that government is in fact the whole country or its people? Will the importance of brand be understood and seen as a priority by the highest levels / structures of national settings?
A short and simple answer is, yes, you can brand government. Based on the description/ definition of brand by David Ogilvy;" the intangible sum of a product's attributes". Meaning, it is both the factual or emotional know about of your offerings. And, with that said, brand affects reputation. Since government can benefit from a positive reputation; it is vital to build a strong positive government brand. That people can trust, work with and support.
Perhaps, a strong government brand, may have stronger power and ability to eradicate social challenges and build foreign investor confidence, to trade with the particular country.
Every government department has a role to play in building a strong government brand. And since government's focus is service delivery, collaborative and inter-governmental projects that have the same objective may be a good start to begin showcasing and conversing with the general masses on the work being done.  What the general public may be interested in and appreciate is: Transparency and regular communication. Knowing that their issues are being heard and made a priority amongst the agendas of government meetings. Whether government is delivering enough or not, is not the question we will attempt to answer right now, as it is not the subject matter at hand. However, regular and frequent communication, may be a good start to engage the public to increase awareness, and, hear the queries of the general public. Since, not communicating or less-effective communication, may increase negative perceptions about government, as a result impacting on the reputation of the particular government negatively. To build a good, positive strong brand, transparency and trust, is the key that will unlock people's support, loyalty, and to some extend patriotism.
With the advancements of technology, it is possible for government to monitor in real time, through various mediums of communication, the conversations that the ordinary citizens are having, and in return, plan on mitigating on those factors. This will pave a way for the government, and its work to be seen with a positive light.
The priorities are already set at the highest levels of government, through the legislature and other policy forums. So all that needs to be looked at is the HOW of implementation. Each department has a mission, vision and values. The alignment of values, creating and fostering a certain culture, that is uniform across the board, may be a good start to building a strong government brand. ,
If we take this subject to a higher school of thought, a good reputable government will instil confidence amongst investors and secure future earnings for the country as a whole.