Executives in Search of their Brands are usually on the Wrong Path
Brands for job-seeking executives are a popular pastime for career consultants, authors, and speakers these days. It is my opinion, however, that most executives should be concerned with positioning, not branding. Occasionally I run across an executive who truly has (or should have) a brand, but they are few and far between. Small business owners have a little more complicated issue in determining whether the focus needs to be on brand or positioning or both. They must also consider how the “business” is branded vs. the owner.
In marketing, positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create in image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. A brand, on the other hand, is the identity of a specific product, service or business as reflected in a name, sign, symbol, color combination or slogan. A legally protected band name is called a trademark. (These definitions are adapted from Wikipedia.)
The most effective brands for the small group of executives that truly have one usually reflect a complete metaphor. For example, the brand “Corporate Chiropractor” might be completed with the phrase “helping align a corporation from top to bottom”. The brand “Flying Ace in the World of IT Leadership” might continue on with discussion about “navigation” or “piloting innovation to benefit the bottom line.”
Positioning, on the other hand, is extremely useful for describing the alignment of an executive’s talents with the needs of the organization and highlighting the value of the executive’s contribution. That is, after all, how the match will be made.
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