17/05/2008

The archive contains older posts which may no longer reflect my current views.

A brand is a promise.

ReliableI was driving home along the motorway last night and passed a lorry bearing the tag line "a brand is a promise" - it got me thinking.

A brand is a promise

It's like a line from an inspirational speaker at a dodgy weekend, residential seminar but it does have a very valid point.

Blogging is a strange beast, there is no contract between the blogger and the consumer but by setting out your stall and publishing a feed there is an implied promise that your brand will maintain a certain quality. That is why people subscribe to RSS feeds - they like what they have seen so far and sign up to receive more of the same; they are investing their trust in the author to deliver.

Blogs that fail to keep that promise will lose their subscribers as they move on to a more 'reliable' source and seek to control the amount of information they consume in these data saturated times.

Your brand

With this in mind, what makes up your brand?

  • Have you identified your voice?
  • What is your writing style?
  • What makes you tick and what are you passionate about?

If you can't answer these questions your brand will be incoherent and your readers will not want to subscribe as there will be no consistent message.

As for me, my voice is that nagging doubt that questions what we do and why we do it. My style is to step back and examine things from as objective a standpoint as possible and not be a 'yes man'. I aim to get people talking.The rebrand has allowed me to focus on my interests and explore them with a passion that was previously lacking.

Your turn

So, I ask you, what does your brand promise and do you live up to it?

Image by Eva.

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