This archive report was first published on 16 December 2019.
December 16, 2019
Lucy, a senior executive in a Lagos firm, was a celebrity in her own right. Her phone rang constantly, and people would ask for selfies whenever she was out at public functions. But when the company downsized and she was let go, her phone went silent. She went from being a high-profile executive to a person who checked her phone regularly to see if it was still working.
Her story is not unique. Many people who are employees of certain organisations appear to be celebrities, but when they are no longer in that office, they are confronted with the sad truth that their corporate brand had swallowed up any semblance of a personal brand.
However, there are those who have what I call timeless brands. They rise and shine regardless of their corporate affiliation. Companies make a lot of noise about the fact that such people are joining the team, and their brand has already attained a level where it commands attention and respect.
Take Steve Jobs, for example. He was fired from the company he started, but his personal brand continued to shine. He was a celebrity leader who made emotional connections with people, and his strong personal brand drove the performance of the corporate brand. When he was called back, the company bounced back.
Compare this with CNN, where the founder, Ted Turner, also had to leave the company. However, many people did not know that he had been fired, and life went on at CNN. The difference between Apple and CNN is that Apple had one super personal brand in Steve Jobs, while CNN had many powerful personal brands like Wolf Blitzer, Larry King, and Christiane Amanpour.
These personal brands had the power of endorsement, and if any of them went to a small town station in a remote part of the world, that remote station would suddenly find a new level of visibility. A good example is Oprah Winfrey, who has endorsed thousands of authors, products, and companies.
The Internet era and the power of social media have provided a platform for many powerful personal brands to emerge. I believe that the decade we are about to enter will be the decade of the personal brand. Big brands have had their say, but the loudest voices of the future will be the voices of personal brands endorsing big brands.
Managing your personal brand is no longer an option; it's the way to go. Kylie Jenner is paid over a million dollars for a single post on Instagram, where she has 153 million followers. That's a direct hit to a population greater than the population of most countries on the face of the earth.
