My Brand Identity Crisis

2009-06-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

I can only assume this happens to millions of people on a daily basis...

So I’m currently working for an internship in the city, and for the most part it’s a great time. My job is to take advantage of the twitter/Facebook/2.0 craze and create a profile for each social media tool. At first this seemed like an easy task… I have a Twitter therefore I can control my organizations twitter.

This is not the case.

"The depths and knowledge one must understand to manipulate these technologies goes to a way deeper, psychological level."

When we use our twitter and facebook accounts, we take for granted the fact that whatever we choose to write is a free expression of our thoughts and ideas, unchallenged by a business’s brand or ideology (for now at least). Imagine if someone monitored your tweets for language and “brand cohesion?” It would probably tare the very fabric of your being apart. Today was such a case.

I was on the business twitter account (separate from my own) about to send an update to our many fans when I had to stop and wonder… “did this sound like the business or like me?” I was stuck. For a solid five minutes I couldn’t decide whether the diction was a reflection of my own sentiments or of the brands. Remember, when working with a company, one must take into account its fanbase, its attitude, and it’s identity. As I sat there writing what I thought was a perfectly good tweet, my co-worker came across the screen and asked me “do you think this would be something our company would say? Is the language and syntax appropriate for our fan base?”

"And like a brick to the face it hit me: I had no idea what my company was supposed to sound like."

I thought I knew: A mixture of the company’s image with my own branding knowledge. But this was not so. The company’s syntax, it seemed, followed a faceless, informative tone which I had no relation too. I had to wonder…Do people act like their favorite brands are people? And if so, do they grow offended when they step out of character? All these thoughts were making it hard to understand my role in this company let alone the twitterverse. I decided to take a break and get some lunch.

“it’s one thing for companies to create content…but quiet another to live and breath content"

While walking in the city, I thought of all the advertisements on the buildings. This was nothing like social media advertising. Never before could old mediums take on such a humanistic personality because our personal social tools were far from developed, and broadcasting was way out of the consumers reach. Snapple couldn’t sponsor a family next door and give it special offers or the day’s fun facts (although they do now). It wasn’t possible because companies and individuals did not use the same social tools to interact, but now that we do, the balance of power has shifted. Both parties are on the same level.

"If you worked at a company twenty years ago you could have created a billboard but by no means would you have bought one for yourself."

When I returned to the desk, I plopped out something resembling cardboard in the hopes that our fan base wouldn’t be too offended as to miss Thanksgiving dinner and see the children.

The question is: What is the impact of brand personalities that act as though they are a single voice ? Will all brands have full blown personalities in the future? One can already see companies which converse with their fan base like a normal person would (or rather, adapt a tone to reflect their customer). If this trend continues, be prepared to see WholeFood's mood ";)" and favorite movie's in the near future.

I can only hope their is a place for people like me who suffer from this illness...

Inside Dopester

My Brand Identity Crisis