And the Winner Is… Personality Branding
The most crucial question about your brand today is, what makes you different?
In the 2016 election, all polls and pundits predicted Hillary Clinton winning by a wide margin. Yet one poll that looks at politicians and media personalities as personal brands, predicted Donald Trump would win the election.
In this month’s Fortune Magazine, Geoff Colvin writes about how VMLY&R and BAVGroup gauges brands on two dimensions: brand stature, determined by familiarity and likability, and brand strength, based on a brand’s differentiation and relevance.
BAV determined that Clinton and Trump were tied in likability, but Trump’s differentiation was much higher than Clinton who was perceived to be like most other politicians. BAV is now showing that Pete Buttigieg has by far the highest brand strength among Democrats. Note that the Fortune article was written before the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.
My theory is that Trump and Buttigieg are perceived to be different because they come off as non-politicians albeit in vastly different ways. Both candidates are highly relevant to their constituents.
How Brand Stature and Brand Strength Apply to Radio and Podcasts
Generic radio shows and podcasts that sound like the others in their lane are commodities, not brands. They will not likely succeed because they don’t stand out.
Competing among today’s multiple entertainment platforms, differentiation and relevance wins. Brand strength is more important than brand stature because brand stature is built by brand strength according to BAV.
- Brand differentiation begins with authentic personalities who share their viewpoints and life experiences. There is no one like you. Your point of view and stories need be relevant to your target audience to make an emotional connection.
- Your content must be original and innovative. But what about popular features like “Second Date Update” or a good news feature? They can stand out by putting your unique and creative spin on the name and execution.
- Creative content doesn’t happen consistently on the fly. Putting in the time planning and brainstorming, as a group and individually, is the path to innovation.
- Define your brand. The Randy Lane Company character and brand definition method emphasizes brand differentiation to help radio shows and podcasts stand out from the pack.
Listeners will choose your brand over competitors for three reasons:
- Your show/podcast is different
- They know you and they like you
- Your brand content is relevant to their lives
Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash
