How to develop a personal branding leitmotif
By Anita Lobo on Jul 21, 2009 in Personal branding
Do we need a ‘personal leitmotif’ that evokes an image without saying a word?
Dramatists, musicians and artists have been creating leitmotifs that imprint unforgettable memories. For instance, Pink Floyd’s The Wall evokes ‘another brick in the wall’ instantly.
You are a work of art
Creating a leitmotif allows us to ‘lead’ viewers into a multi-sensory experience that carves a new groove in their memory.
We create art with ourselves.
Inside-out thinking
The leitmotif needs to be thought through inside-out and not be a slave to the latest trend.
While choosing the latest ‘in’ thing may get you noticed now, when the trend changes, where does it leave you?
At the core of this is: Choosing what works for you, so that it comes across as natural and reflects who we really are and want to be seen as. And is not a copy of role models or trendy celebrities!
Elements that help find our leopard spots
A leitmotif works ‘with’ the way our brains are geared to remember.
Wearing a colour. Paulo Coelho wears all shades of black!
An outstanding introduction. Mr. Stephen Fry
A never-seen-without accessory. We all know this one!
A specific dress-sense that’s recognised as your uber chic code!
How to imprint
Imprinting your personal leitmotif requires repetition and consistency.
Working the groove, with every person you meet or talk to.
Now look at Seth Godin. If you’ve visualised Seth Godin’s face, err pate – you’ve got the point. Also remember, it took him and Malcolm Gladwell over 10,000 hours of practise to get where they are today!
The tricky one is consistency. Little tweaks to improve the grand design are a must to keep it fresh and memorable, while staying true to what the leitmotif represents i.e. you.
How do you know it’s working?
Start with the first ten people. If they get it, try the first 100. Proof arrives when people in your direct circle recognise you instinctively. And they tell the next 100 and so on! This measure of marketing by Seth Godin works at a deeply personal level too.
Your circle of engagement will signal success – so observe and ask for feedback.
Why do this?
Personal branding has zoomed up discussion charts. For every @danschawbel who propounds it and @davidspinks who counters the idea, there are many of us still figuring out.
The world’s a stage and we are living the story of our own stories.
Creating everyday presence, without seeming melodramatic or forgettable isn’t easy.
The challenge is in creating a personal leitmotif which is authentic, memorable and fresh, or the audience will wander off.
What’s your personal leitmotif? And how did you ‘refresh’ it?
How do you bring authenticity to your leitmotif? Share your tips on what works and traps to avoid.
Notes and links:
leitmotif \LYT-moh-teef\, noun:
1. In music drama, a marked melodic phrase or short passage which always accompanies the reappearance of a certain person, situation, abstract idea, or allusion in the course of the play; a sort of musical label.
2. A dominant and recurring theme.
Leitmotif (also spelled leitmotiv) is from German Leitmotiv, “leading motif,” from leiten, “to lead” (from Old High German leitan) + Motiv, “motif,” from the French. It is especially associated with the operas of German composer Richard Wagner.
Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell: The 10,000 hour rule
Dan Schawbel
David Spinks: My Problem with Personal Branding « The Spinks Blog
Image credit: Driven leaders
Popularity: 2% [?]
On Jul 21, 2009, Murali said:
Wouldn’t it have to change as more and more people jump onto the personal branding bandwagon? Also as societal tastes and preferences change, as they do so often these days?
Sustaining a personal brand might be more difficult than appears on the surface. It took Hillary Clinton a long time to find the perfect hairstyle.
On Jul 22, 2009, Sanghmitra said:
Can not say i totally agree to this.
On Jul 22, 2009, Anita Lobo said:
Thank you all for the RT’s, DM’s and emails. Glad you found this post interesting.
Murali: Creating and sustaining a personal brand isn’t easy. It requires constant effort and curation.
It did take Hillary Clinton many years to work out the pantsuit, the singular necklace, broach, and yes the hairstyle — as long as it took her to work out a successful legal and political career!
The ‘look’ is an outcome of the leitmotif HC created in view of the image she wants for herself.
If you do an image search on HC you will notice both consistency and the tiny changes she has made from her years as First Lady to now
Sanghmitra: Thank you. I believe, ‘Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.’ Mahatma Gandhi
Cheers and thanks!
Anita Lobo
On Jul 28, 2009, Kushal said:
Thanks for the very informative post. It is likely to be very useful.
On Aug 7, 2009, Amrut Joshi said:
Good Post, Anita! Will follow your blogs regularly henceforth!
On Aug 21, 2009, Tipsy said:
Personal branding is very important that is truth. Sadly because there are more important things about any person (abilities, experience, creativity) that could be used without shaving a beard or wearing leather pants. But it is truth – to be easily recognized it is good to have some personal branding leitmotif to give people something characteristic that they could compare you with.
On Sep 4, 2009, Imam Siddique said:
Often times your name alone and they way you utilise it creatively can become that ‘leitmotif’… “I_M_A_M” as is in my case.
On Sep 10, 2009, indyaz said:
Nice post Anita !! Please share more article like this
On Sep 17, 2009, Sapience said:
India’s steady rise in national income – by nearly 6 per cent per year for two decades – has made the country one of the world’s top growth performers. But this growth has also been highly peculiar. It has been “jobless”; and it has been driven more by services than by industry.
In other relevant high-growth economies such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand, the share of industry doubled between 1960 and 2002 to reach 40 per cent or more of gross domestic product.
=========================================shubh
sapience
On Jul 21, 2009, reputmgmt said:
How to develop a personal branding leitmotif: India PR Blog http://u.mavrev.com/rwbv
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On Jul 21, 2009, palinn said:
How to develop a personal branding leitmotif http://is.gd/1FYOR #fb
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On Jul 21, 2009, Bhawna_Sharma said:
just read: How to develop a personal branding leitmotif http://bit.ly/vPxEn
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On Jul 21, 2009, shuklanishant said:
RT: @palinn: How to develop a personal branding leitmotif http://is.gd/1FYOR #fb
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On Jul 21, 2009, surekhapillai said:
good read – article by @anita_lobo RT @palinn: How to develop a personal branding leitmotif http://is.gd/1FYOR #fb
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On Jul 21, 2009, goutamsathia said:
RT @surekhapillai: good read – article by @anita_lobo RT @palinn: How to develop a personal branding leitmotif http://is.gd/1FYOR #fb
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On Jul 21, 2009, mihirlakhani said:
RT @surekhapillai: gd read – article by @Anita_Lobo RT @palinn: How 2 develop a personal branding leitmotif http://is.gd/1FYOR
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On Jul 21, 2009, PRCAI said:
How to develop a personal branding leitmotif http://bit.ly/16jZdn courtesy @IndiaPRblog
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