An old peice I wrote that I just came across…
So recently I’ve realized that I’ve been doing something that makes
me feel pretty suave, which can be pretty rare for me. I’ll call it personal branding.
We all know pretty much what branding is- Coke does it, that little
Energizer Bunny, you see a cavemen and think Geico (I know I have,
every single time). You see a fat guy with a hat, and you think “Ahh…
I should go play Monopoly.”
The point is this: you are being
bombarded by lots of stuff, and somethings trigger certain other
memories. For instance, there is a song in the Dominican Republic that
reminded me of “Be Prepared” from The Lion King. So I had that stuck in
my head constantly for three months. I have no idea what the song
was…. but I kept hearing it, evidently, as the song kept popping into
my head.
So personal branding is when you make people think
about you whenever they see something unrelated to you. The trick is
this: make it something common. What’s the use of having people think
of you whenever they see a combine if you live in New York City? I’ve
managed to do it with tracts. By simplying regifting tracts, some of my
friends now think of me whenever they see a tract. Depending where you
live, that may be something rather common.
Here’s some more ideas on things to be branded with:
- Fire Hydrants
- Plungers
- Latex gloves
- Fire extinguishers
As
you can see, each of these has a possible negative connotation. Your
challenge is to make something decent out of these. Don’t pee on the
hydrant like a dog- take up painting them glow in the dark. Shave your
head, and stick the plunger on your head (a clean one, silly). Blow the
latex glove up with your nose (it’ll be a pleasant thought for your
friends the next time they’re at the dentist). Make ice cream with the
fire extinguisher. But you can’t do these… I’ve done all of these
already (although I can??t claim originality on them). Go brand yourself
with your own creativity, and make sure your friends are actually
thinking of you…
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