What Does Your Brand Smell Like?

A BRAND?

A brand should be a clear statement.

Laser focused intent.

Not vague, unfocused or unclear.

Your brand must be consistent.

Your brand no matter what it might be must be CLEAR FOCUSED CONSISTENT. The focus on a brand or label is often the target audience or demo graphic - this is the tried and tested formulaic standard.

This is not clear enough. Your brand, label or 'signature' must personify what your business, product or service is.

Lets explore that notion in more detail : Personify

per·son·i·fy/pərˈsänəˌfī/

Verb:

Represent (a quality or concept) by a figure in human form. Attribute a personal nature or human characteristics to (something nonhuman). Your label must practically breathe. It must be 3 dimentional today. Its more than a notion of a type of person, of a particular age leading a specific lifestyle. That is very rudimentary and might have stood its ground in the less sophisticated past - as delightful and uncomplicated as they may have been. Although there are some very clear leads and exacting if not perfect examples that were set which I will address later in this piece, lets first explore the idea of your 'brand' personified. Is your brand a woman or a man, is it short or tall, muscular, fair, manicured? Does it sink or swim, is it rugged or refined, whats their garden like? Think about it. What would your brands rituals be? Up at 6am to work a farm or ski? Is it dutiful and kind? Is it sexy and svelte, chubby and cute. Where and how does it walk - or indeed strut? Perhaps it rides?  To have a totally Clear, Focused, Consistent vision you would want to entertain your labels diet. This may sound at first ludicrous but the more exacting you are with this the more precise your message will be and the more successful your marketing message will be. Ever met someone who is inconsistent, someone who cant hang their hat on one idea or thing...confusing isn't it? No matter how patient, kind and clever you might be it does your head in. Its hard work. What about the consistent person - what do they offer you? I am not talking about bland or boring - but you know who they are, what they are about, what motivates them what makes them shake! What makes them shake quake and want to copulate? You must know these things. Lets flick back to iconic 1970's advertising. What did this guy eat drink and do? I can tell you know he didn't use men's grooming products, would never even consider sushi, live in a modernist home or care what his postcode or zip code was. But we can imagine what is important to him and what his rituals might be... and... we can even imagine his smell! Earthy, sexy.  Get it?

::: THE CULT OF PERSONALITY - BE YOUR BRAND :::

Cicciolina Porn Star to Italian Political Party

The Cult of Personality...

Q:What do you do with a personality that's larger than life? A:Make it a cult.

Personalty...
Some personalities just are.
They are not refined of honed they exist. They may pre exist in some raw form early on and then develop into something more intense and consistent becoming more like a brand.

Nicki Minaj
Lady Gaga
Madonna
Cicciolina
Forest Gump - he had one.

The Kennedys
Frank Sinatra
Mick Jagger and his swagger
Justin Beiber - I have seen no evidence of it yet...but I hear he can sing.

Amy Winehouse
Janice Joplin

You need personality to rock this at 60+!

Karl Largerfeild

Big fat flying looping swooping buzzing pervasive personalities that fill up a room. Their own self, in essence their brand - BOOM! The individuals energy fills every crevice of the room every atom of some brains, people want it like it, emulate and loathe it. The populous pay homage to it, the -insert name here- brand whips itself into a potent froth. Its interesting isn't it the power and cult of personality it resonates around us on so many levels.

SO where does it all begin?

I believe its innate - god given. Intrinsic. There since childhood which none of us get to escape.

Like a smack of intense weather the brand of cult personality can colour your world. The public likes to identify with, attach themselves and align their life with the personality brand a la 'Leave Brittany Alone' clip. She aches I ache. Her success is my success. Her pain is my pain "Oh lets all have a come back tour"

A positioning statement is esoterically attained.

Think Elvis Presley. His brand and cult are posthumously maintained personally by the masses and by the media. His name contains a unique yet consistent frame of reference for everyone familiar with his brand and name.
In this clip personality and charisma ooze all over us and is impossible to resist.

Micheal Jackson the brand will live forever due to the personality and talent he had.


Marketing is a strange phenomenon and what sells and works can be irrefutably absurd. Take a hefty blokey man put him in blue sequins and get him to sing Disco and you have a classic number one hit single by none other than DIVINE. Sheer force of personality and correct timing = universally popular. It sells with conviction.


Wear your brand

your personality

your integrity and your power well

do not abuse inflict or embellish it

just be it.

Be a little Cicciolina, Karl, Divine, Elvis and carve out your own unique life.

Just be you while you do your stuff.

MONA, LISA and the SEXUALLY STIMULATING BUILDINGS OF TASMANIA!

I have been away. A long over due short respite.

Never had the inking to go there before but the news of the 'new' and incredible gallery had me convinced I should see this back water that feels like a a backyard (over some water) to Melbourne. I would have previously typified it as a quaint and humble country style get away.

Reluctantly I booked flights to Tasmania and back - Hobart to be precise. Destination MONA Museum of Old and New Art. While I was going to be in the Apple Isle I had heard Cradle Mountain was quite good to, so I booked two nights at the Cradle Mountain Lodge. I had no expectation and am usually up for a bit of the unknown.

Well %$#@ me!

I was totally surprised by the Architecture in Hobart - they have keep everything that most cities have torn down. Such a conglomeration beautifully kept, the streets are clean and the air so crisp it snap froze my checks - all four of them to a beautiful pink glow!

There were a few stand outs for me, one of which was this amazing orange monolith. 

Exquisite Tangerine Excellence!

I  am guessing this glass beauty is anywhere from '63 to '68. 

I was pleased to see great examples of Brutalist Architecture around the harbor, this is the Hobart Hospital. 

Brilliant glass and textured cement towers.

This too caught my eye, had I had more time I would have delved more into the history and use of these buildings, my snap shots for now must suffice. Love the sweeping curvaceousness of this and the dynamism of the lines as your eyes cast across those very sensuous lines.

Now this is just chunky waffle goodness, magnificent in its hollow exterior and the step effect interplay of the planes this seriously impresses me.

As I headed to see the reason for my Tassie Visit I was able to spy this inter-fold facade of cleverness with tight bold exacting boxes jutting out - as someone who thoroughly enjoys form these buildings delighted me. Some women love shoes, some are stimulated by precious stones and meaningless jewelry not me this stuff does it for me tenfold it sets of all kinds off buttons and triggers...

So then I headed on to...
MONA

I understand why people don't say much about their visits there it really must be experienced. Here are some images to incite you to simply go. These images are pretty much just the walls...its as sexy as hell in there!

 Oh the textures most of this place is subterranean literally...

 Aquatic Instillation Art!

Ok so I do like these shoes and they were surprisingly comfortable...give yourself at least 4 hours at Mona. I am itching to return, there are some sexual pieces but it is not grotesque nor is it overly confronting. The amazing this is the diversity of the museum and it is simply one mans collection of art, it is not thematic nor is it curatorially edited, it is diverse impressive and compelling. Hats of to Mr David Walsh the owner and founder. It houses a crypt and you can be entombed after cremation and be there in spirit for eternity. It certainly brings a new meaning to the expression 'Art to Die For'.

Stay tuned for Tassie part 2...I had an outdoor adventure! 

Meanwhile get your toush to tassie. 

Air kisses and love babies!