When someone says The Big “O” it can have many different meanings depending on where in the country you live, what you spend your days doing and where your mind is at the moment. Hey, keep it clean folks, this is a personal branding blog not a, well, you know. (wink, wink)
For those of us that live in Chicago, or let’s face it, nearly anywhere these days, The Big “O” might just conjure up thoughts of a little known figure by the name of Oprah. When you think of personal branding this is a personal brand done right. Thinking of her brand, has anyone else noticed that she dropped Winfrey?
Do last names last?
And her talk show competition, the dancing diva Ellen, has dropped DeGeneres. It appears as if there’s a whole generation of “Madonna’s” running around dropping last names as if one name is all anyone needs. Has using just one name become a new personal branding tactic of the uber-successful woman? Will Martha Stewart soon be going by just Martha? Don’t look now but her blog is already named “The Martha Blog” which looks like she might be ready to jump on this fast-moving train. Are Rachel Ray and Suze Orman getting ready to follow suit?
Known for her industry-leading innovation, Oprah has taken it a step further and moved her signature to simply “O”; sayonara p-r-a and h. This is the power of a personal brand done well.
These women are more than mere names, or in one case a letter. They are media moguls, investors, actresses, executive producers, multi-millionaires and billionaires and philanthropists. Are all of them all of these things? No. However, their brands are each powerhouses and all of these brands are built on one person which makes it both a personal brand and a business brand. I know this rather well as my name and brand, like these women, is the same.
What’s behind the brand
Diving into one of these brands, Oprah, shows that it’s more than a brand, it’s a business that has multiple divisions and directions all of which come together with one person, one face and one name.
Your experience, education, talent and skills may be vast and great yet your personal branding message brings it all together in a powerful statement that conveys why YOU, the brand, are the best candidate for the job. With clarity comes results. Clarify your personal branding message, communicate it to your network and results will follow.
