1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,760
Tell me about your vision.
2
00:00:03,180 --> 00:00:07,700
My vision of what I'm trying to accomplish?
3
00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:11,480
Yeah, your vision.
4
00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:13,820
So I'm an author.
5
00:00:13,820 --> 00:00:17,320
I have a day job and I have this job
6
00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:19,460
that I'm writing books about branding.
7
00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,640
In my day job, I'm the vice president of communications
8
00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,880
for a Fortune 500 company here in Canada.
9
00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:30,320
So it's a busy job.
10
00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:33,960
I've written one book so far
11
00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:38,960
and I'm ready to publish a second book on branding.
12
00:00:38,980 --> 00:00:43,120
I am passionate about what a brand is
13
00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:44,720
and how do you get a brand?
14
00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:47,900
I think there's lots of misunderstanding
15
00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:50,520
of what branding is today.
16
00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,880
There is people keep talking about
17
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:54,880
everyone has to be a brand.
18
00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,320
I'm not convinced that everybody has to be a brand.
19
00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,800
The brand is something that is very unique
20
00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,140
and somewhat complicated.
21
00:01:04,140 --> 00:01:07,840
So I don't know if we all have to be a brand.
22
00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,780
It's kind of like talking to a box of cereal.
23
00:01:13,060 --> 00:01:15,600
And I don't think we all have to be a box of cereal.
24
00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:20,680
Okay, that's amazing thought.
25
00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,740
So tell me where did this vision come from of you
26
00:01:24,740 --> 00:01:29,200
about branding and wanting to build or make
27
00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,300
or not make brands?
28
00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:36,300
So I've been working with brands for about three decades.
29
00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,800
I've worked, as I said earlier to you,
30
00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,560
I worked in the advertising industry.
31
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,280
I work for a brand that is,
32
00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:47,980
it's one of the top 100 brands in the world.
33
00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:51,880
I've seen brands falter.
34
00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:56,880
I've helped brands try to succeed and some have not.
35
00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,240
And so for me, it's understanding what is it
36
00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:03,160
that makes a brand.
37
00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:07,400
And to me, you gotta come up with a clear definition
38
00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,160
of what a brand is.
39
00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,600
And my definition, I'm kind of paraphrasing
40
00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,040
a great quote from Maya Angelou,
41
00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:20,280
which is a brand isn't about what it says or does,
42
00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,780
but how it makes its customers feel.
43
00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:25,320
So it is about a feeling.
44
00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:26,620
That's what a brand is.
45
00:02:27,620 --> 00:02:30,640
And that feeling resides with those people
46
00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:32,040
that consume that brand.
47
00:02:33,180 --> 00:02:38,180
Doesn't stop you from making all of the touch points
48
00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:39,840
create that feeling,
49
00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,400
but that feeling exists within the customer,
50
00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:44,920
not with the brand itself.
51
00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:47,700
So how do you build a brand?
52
00:02:47,700 --> 00:02:52,700
There's, it's like, how do you create a human being?
53
00:02:54,620 --> 00:02:56,760
Same thing, it's very complex.
54
00:02:57,940 --> 00:02:59,340
There's things you can control
55
00:02:59,340 --> 00:03:01,440
and there's things that you can't control.
56
00:03:04,340 --> 00:03:05,180
Interesting.
57
00:03:05,180 --> 00:03:06,500
That's an amazing point.
58
00:03:06,500 --> 00:03:08,160
I've never thought about it that way.
59
00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:09,460
That's a great insight.
60
00:03:10,780 --> 00:03:15,240
So would you say that that's your why as well?
61
00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:16,280
Yes.
62
00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:21,280
So my why is to try and educate people
63
00:03:21,420 --> 00:03:23,780
when they say they wanna be a brand,
64
00:03:23,780 --> 00:03:27,520
really understand what is it you're trying to achieve.
65
00:03:28,420 --> 00:03:30,540
Today, I hear so many people talk
66
00:03:30,540 --> 00:03:32,880
about the tactics of branding.
67
00:03:33,900 --> 00:03:37,860
And we're now using, because we have social media,
68
00:03:37,860 --> 00:03:42,260
we have digital abilities to broadcast.
69
00:03:42,260 --> 00:03:47,260
We've all now been trained or told we have to be a brand.
70
00:03:48,420 --> 00:03:50,740
And that's all they're actually telling you
71
00:03:50,740 --> 00:03:54,840
is they want you to put content out there.
72
00:03:56,060 --> 00:03:59,260
And I can be cynical and say that,
73
00:03:59,260 --> 00:04:03,260
is this driven by social media?
74
00:04:03,260 --> 00:04:08,260
Because for them to exist, we have to create content.
75
00:04:10,060 --> 00:04:11,560
That is true.
76
00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:15,300
So they want the best content as possible.
77
00:04:15,300 --> 00:04:18,060
So I keep hearing to build your brand,
78
00:04:18,060 --> 00:04:19,380
your personal brand, guess what?
79
00:04:19,380 --> 00:04:21,280
You've gotta have a presence in social.
80
00:04:22,780 --> 00:04:25,820
And I'm going, it's bigger than that.
81
00:04:25,820 --> 00:04:26,740
You actually do.
82
00:04:26,740 --> 00:04:30,180
If you are the product or the service,
83
00:04:30,180 --> 00:04:34,240
first most important element for a brand
84
00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,460
is you've gotta have something that you're selling.
85
00:04:36,460 --> 00:04:41,380
It's some transaction between the thing that you have,
86
00:04:41,380 --> 00:04:44,080
the product and a customer.
87
00:04:45,940 --> 00:04:48,160
Outside that, it becomes a relationship.
88
00:04:49,180 --> 00:04:51,260
And a relationship, I have relationships every day.
89
00:04:51,260 --> 00:04:53,380
I have people that I know today
90
00:04:53,380 --> 00:04:55,140
that are very close friends.
91
00:04:55,140 --> 00:04:56,500
I have associates.
92
00:04:57,580 --> 00:04:59,540
Those aren't transactions.
93
00:04:59,540 --> 00:05:01,720
Those are just relationships.
94
00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,560
A brand has to have a transaction.
95
00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,100
Otherwise the definition has to change.
96
00:05:08,100 --> 00:05:12,500
And you can't compare yourself to a box of cereal.
97
00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:17,420
But I can compare all the attributes of a box of cereal
98
00:05:17,420 --> 00:05:20,300
and how to build that brand.
99
00:05:20,300 --> 00:05:23,860
I build it through what I call the five Cs of branding.
100
00:05:26,140 --> 00:05:30,100
And that is about consistency, about content,
101
00:05:30,100 --> 00:05:33,440
it's about community, and it's about construct,
102
00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,540
and it's about commitment.
103
00:05:35,540 --> 00:05:40,540
So if you want to build a brand because you are consultant,
104
00:05:41,380 --> 00:05:43,180
you're trying to sell your services,
105
00:05:43,180 --> 00:05:45,020
you're trying to sell your ideas,
106
00:05:46,180 --> 00:05:50,580
yeah, you should probably think about building a brand.
107
00:05:50,580 --> 00:05:55,580
But understand you have to give up some of your personality,
108
00:05:55,940 --> 00:05:57,460
some of the things that you,
109
00:05:57,460 --> 00:06:01,660
because otherwise people can't understand.
110
00:06:03,060 --> 00:06:05,180
We're complex.
111
00:06:05,180 --> 00:06:06,140
People are complex.
112
00:06:06,140 --> 00:06:11,140
So if I show my full self, I can't, that's not a brand.
113
00:06:11,540 --> 00:06:13,900
A brand is about a box.
114
00:06:13,900 --> 00:06:15,660
And I keep using the cereal box
115
00:06:15,660 --> 00:06:17,900
because I think it's a really good example
116
00:06:17,900 --> 00:06:21,580
of a finite aspect of a brand.
117
00:06:23,340 --> 00:06:27,700
Because to be consistent, you have to live consistently
118
00:06:27,700 --> 00:06:30,100
with the attributes and the things
119
00:06:30,100 --> 00:06:34,400
that you are offering consistently.
120
00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:35,780
Thank you for being here today.
121
00:06:35,780 --> 00:06:38,260
I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live.
122
00:06:38,260 --> 00:06:40,900
I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions
123
00:06:40,900 --> 00:06:43,180
as these episodes continue to move forward.
124
00:06:43,180 --> 00:06:44,900
This is gonna get more and more fun.
125
00:06:44,900 --> 00:06:46,700
We'll have more and more engagement as well.
126
00:06:46,700 --> 00:06:48,820
We'll invite people to participate in the show.
127
00:06:48,820 --> 00:06:51,180
And thank you for giving us your time and attention.
128
00:06:51,180 --> 00:06:53,900
Have an excellent time building out your vision
129
00:06:53,900 --> 00:07:04,900
and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,760
Tell me about your vision.
2
00:00:03,180 --> 00:00:07,700
My vision of what I'm trying to accomplish?
3
00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:11,480
Yeah, your vision.
4
00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:13,820
So I'm an author.
5
00:00:13,820 --> 00:00:17,320
I have a day job and I have this job
6
00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:19,460
that I'm writing books about branding.
7
00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,640
In my day job, I'm the vice president of communications
8
00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,880
for a Fortune 500 company here in Canada.
9
00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:30,320
So it's a busy job.
10
00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:33,960
I've written one book so far
11
00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:38,960
and I'm ready to publish a second book on branding.
12
00:00:38,980 --> 00:00:43,120
I am passionate about what a brand is
13
00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:44,720
and how do you get a brand?
14
00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:47,900
I think there's lots of misunderstanding
15
00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:50,520
of what branding is today.
16
00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,880
There is people keep talking about
17
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:54,880
everyone has to be a brand.
18
00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,320
I'm not convinced that everybody has to be a brand.
19
00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,800
The brand is something that is very unique
20
00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,140
and somewhat complicated.
21
00:01:04,140 --> 00:01:07,840
So I don't know if we all have to be a brand.
22
00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,780
It's kind of like talking to a box of cereal.
23
00:01:13,060 --> 00:01:15,600
And I don't think we all have to be a box of cereal.
24
00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:20,680
Okay, that's amazing thought.
25
00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,740
So tell me where did this vision come from of you
26
00:01:24,740 --> 00:01:29,200
about branding and wanting to build or make
27
00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,300
or not make brands?
28
00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:36,300
So I've been working with brands for about three decades.
29
00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,800
I've worked, as I said earlier to you,
30
00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,560
I worked in the advertising industry.
31
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,280
I work for a brand that is,
32
00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:47,980
it's one of the top 100 brands in the world.
33
00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:51,880
I've seen brands falter.
34
00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:56,880
I've helped brands try to succeed and some have not.
35
00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,240
And so for me, it's understanding what is it
36
00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:03,160
that makes a brand.
37
00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:07,400
And to me, you gotta come up with a clear definition
38
00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,160
of what a brand is.
39
00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,600
And my definition, I'm kind of paraphrasing
40
00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,040
a great quote from Maya Angelou,
41
00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:20,280
which is a brand isn't about what it says or does,
42
00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,780
but how it makes its customers feel.
43
00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:25,320
So it is about a feeling.
44
00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:26,620
That's what a brand is.
45
00:02:27,620 --> 00:02:30,640
And that feeling resides with those people
46
00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:32,040
that consume that brand.
47
00:02:33,180 --> 00:02:38,180
Doesn't stop you from making all of the touch points
48
00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:39,840
create that feeling,
49
00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,400
but that feeling exists within the customer,
50
00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:44,920
not with the brand itself.
51
00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:47,700
So how do you build a brand?
52
00:02:47,700 --> 00:02:52,700
There's, it's like, how do you create a human being?
53
00:02:54,620 --> 00:02:56,760
Same thing, it's very complex.
54
00:02:57,940 --> 00:02:59,340
There's things you can control
55
00:02:59,340 --> 00:03:01,440
and there's things that you can't control.
56
00:03:04,340 --> 00:03:05,180
Interesting.
57
00:03:05,180 --> 00:03:06,500
That's an amazing point.
58
00:03:06,500 --> 00:03:08,160
I've never thought about it that way.
59
00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:09,460
That's a great insight.
60
00:03:10,780 --> 00:03:15,240
So would you say that that's your why as well?
61
00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:16,280
Yes.
62
00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:21,280
So my why is to try and educate people
63
00:03:21,420 --> 00:03:23,780
when they say they wanna be a brand,
64
00:03:23,780 --> 00:03:27,520
really understand what is it you're trying to achieve.
65
00:03:28,420 --> 00:03:30,540
Today, I hear so many people talk
66
00:03:30,540 --> 00:03:32,880
about the tactics of branding.
67
00:03:33,900 --> 00:03:37,860
And we're now using, because we have social media,
68
00:03:37,860 --> 00:03:42,260
we have digital abilities to broadcast.
69
00:03:42,260 --> 00:03:47,260
We've all now been trained or told we have to be a brand.
70
00:03:48,420 --> 00:03:50,740
And that's all they're actually telling you
71
00:03:50,740 --> 00:03:54,840
is they want you to put content out there.
72
00:03:56,060 --> 00:03:59,260
And I can be cynical and say that,
73
00:03:59,260 --> 00:04:03,260
is this driven by social media?
74
00:04:03,260 --> 00:04:08,260
Because for them to exist, we have to create content.
75
00:04:10,060 --> 00:04:11,560
That is true.
76
00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:15,300
So they want the best content as possible.
77
00:04:15,300 --> 00:04:18,060
So I keep hearing to build your brand,
78
00:04:18,060 --> 00:04:19,380
your personal brand, guess what?
79
00:04:19,380 --> 00:04:21,280
You've gotta have a presence in social.
80
00:04:22,780 --> 00:04:25,820
And I'm going, it's bigger than that.
81
00:04:25,820 --> 00:04:26,740
You actually do.
82
00:04:26,740 --> 00:04:30,180
If you are the product or the service,
83
00:04:30,180 --> 00:04:34,240
first most important element for a brand
84
00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,460
is you've gotta have something that you're selling.
85
00:04:36,460 --> 00:04:41,380
It's some transaction between the thing that you have,
86
00:04:41,380 --> 00:04:44,080
the product and a customer.
87
00:04:45,940 --> 00:04:48,160
Outside that, it becomes a relationship.
88
00:04:49,180 --> 00:04:51,260
And a relationship, I have relationships every day.
89
00:04:51,260 --> 00:04:53,380
I have people that I know today
90
00:04:53,380 --> 00:04:55,140
that are very close friends.
91
00:04:55,140 --> 00:04:56,500
I have associates.
92
00:04:57,580 --> 00:04:59,540
Those aren't transactions.
93
00:04:59,540 --> 00:05:01,720
Those are just relationships.
94
00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,560
A brand has to have a transaction.
95
00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,100
Otherwise the definition has to change.
96
00:05:08,100 --> 00:05:12,500
And you can't compare yourself to a box of cereal.
97
00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:17,420
But I can compare all the attributes of a box of cereal
98
00:05:17,420 --> 00:05:20,300
and how to build that brand.
99
00:05:20,300 --> 00:05:23,860
I build it through what I call the five Cs of branding.
100
00:05:26,140 --> 00:05:30,100
And that is about consistency, about content,
101
00:05:30,100 --> 00:05:33,440
it's about community, and it's about construct,
102
00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,540
and it's about commitment.
103
00:05:35,540 --> 00:05:40,540
So if you want to build a brand because you are consultant,
104
00:05:41,380 --> 00:05:43,180
you're trying to sell your services,
105
00:05:43,180 --> 00:05:45,020
you're trying to sell your ideas,
106
00:05:46,180 --> 00:05:50,580
yeah, you should probably think about building a brand.
107
00:05:50,580 --> 00:05:55,580
But understand you have to give up some of your personality,
108
00:05:55,940 --> 00:05:57,460
some of the things that you,
109
00:05:57,460 --> 00:06:01,660
because otherwise people can't understand.
110
00:06:03,060 --> 00:06:05,180
We're complex.
111
00:06:05,180 --> 00:06:06,140
People are complex.
112
00:06:06,140 --> 00:06:11,140
So if I show my full self, I can't, that's not a brand.
113
00:06:11,540 --> 00:06:13,900
A brand is about a box.
114
00:06:13,900 --> 00:06:15,660
And I keep using the cereal box
115
00:06:15,660 --> 00:06:17,900
because I think it's a really good example
116
00:06:17,900 --> 00:06:21,580
of a finite aspect of a brand.
117
00:06:23,340 --> 00:06:27,700
Because to be consistent, you have to live consistently
118
00:06:27,700 --> 00:06:30,100
with the attributes and the things
119
00:06:30,100 --> 00:06:34,400
that you are offering consistently.
120
00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:35,780
Thank you for being here today.
121
00:06:35,780 --> 00:06:38,260
I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live.
122
00:06:38,260 --> 00:06:40,900
I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions
123
00:06:40,900 --> 00:06:43,180
as these episodes continue to move forward.
124
00:06:43,180 --> 00:06:44,900
This is gonna get more and more fun.
125
00:06:44,900 --> 00:06:46,700
We'll have more and more engagement as well.
126
00:06:46,700 --> 00:06:48,820
We'll invite people to participate in the show.
127
00:06:48,820 --> 00:06:51,180
And thank you for giving us your time and attention.
128
00:06:51,180 --> 00:06:53,900
Have an excellent time building out your vision
129
00:06:53,900 --> 00:07:04,900
and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.
