Most of us think of celebs in terms of entertainers. But the category is far more vast. A celeb is anyone who has notoriety with the general public or a select group of people. So the range of celebrity talent goes from famous actors, dancers and writers to hair stylists, inventors or maybe even an industry expert. What determines brandability can be summed up with two questions. WHO would be interested? WHY would they care?
My determination process may seem a bit crass, but it cuts to the chase and saves loads of time. Once we determine theWHO, the WHY is almost as important. Its the WHY that dictates longevity and level of success. A fly-by-night sensation will lose its shine once the 15 minutes of fame or over, that is unless we keep giving them more WHYs.
EXAMPLE: Last year we were all singing the "Pants On the Ground" song courtesy of General Larry Platt. The General appeared on the season 9 auditions of American Idol. Platt then embarked on a whirlwind media tour that included appearances on The View and Ellen and even spawned his own You Tube Channel (click here to visit). There were posters and t-shirts and even an attempt at a iTunes single. Let's face it, General Platt became an epidemic.
Now fast forward one year. We could care less about the "Pants" (on the ground or otherwise). So what made the excitement fizzle? No rocket science required here, the reason WHY the General WAS famous, but ceased to be current or interesting. Of course there are other factors that contribute to brandability, I made a quick list below.
Here are the key factors to be BRANDABLE:
- Be Clear - clearly determine your fan base
- Be Interesting - can you keep the fans interested long term
- Be Personable - can you connect to your audience on a personal and emotional level
- Be Authentic - fans don't care if you are an angel or an ass, they just want it real
Remember Branding is all about 'promise of value'. Determine your value, and you determine your brand.
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