Why is your Brand U so important? “Because in just a few words, through one image – and ideally, by its very name – a brand conveys to consumers a strong, positive sense of a product or service, and why it is different and better than the competition’s. Most important of all, a strong image impels people to buy,” said David Andrusia and Rick Haskins the authors of the recent Brand Yourself.[i]
Over time, your Brand U becomes your brand equity, a life long asset that is your personal competitive advantage. Brand equity is composed of awareness, loyalty, perceived quality and associations according to the leading product brand experts, David Aaker and Erich Joachimthaler in Brand Leadership.[ii]
- Brand U awareness: Companies, customers, and people know you and are familiar with your work. For example, I am known as a Brand U work authority. I write work/career/job columns.
- Brand U loyalty. Customers are loyal to you because they know you have delivered ‘wow’ projects.
[i] Andrusia, David, and Haskins, Rick, Brand Yourself, NY: Ballantine Publishing, 2000, p. 2.
[ii] Aaker, David and Joachimsthaler, Brand Leadership, NY: The Free Press, 2000, p.9.