|
Celebrity Doesn't Just Happen
By Irving Rein, Philip Kotler, Michael Alan Hamlin, and Martin Stoller
August 30,2004
One reason high visibility provides
a premium is that the public demands icons, role models, and reference
persons. For example, have you ever wondered why magazines almost
always have people on the cover, or why People magazine has
become such a huge institution? The reason is simple: people love
to love and hate other people, and a photograph of an individual
on the cover is therefore a compelling reason to buy a magazine
off a newsstand. So compelling, if fact, that it can make the difference
between selling tens of thousands of copies of a publication, or
collecting them back from newsstands to be destroyed.
This example demonstrates the important
reality that celebrities provide stories, entertainment, diversions,
uplifts, and even moral instruction, which people value. Through
them, we enjoy vicarious emotions and experiences rarely found in
our daily lives. And celebrities also offer hope, inspiration, and
knowledge. When an actor is catapulted from ordinariness and poverty
into fame and wealth, the example communicates - with a credibility
factor hard to match - that dramatic change can happen in just about
any person's life. Reading about an author who struggles for years
before getting a manuscript accepted inspires other authors to keep
at it. So too, is the story of a politician who struggles against
dictatorship at great personal sacrifice inspirational, such as
Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi. In fact, it is just such hardship that
pulls us to these examples. No one is much interested in how someone
saw opportunity fall into her lap. Finally, celebrities show us
how it's done: What mistakes to avoid, how to leverage networks,
and how to recognize and capitalize on opportunity.
On a more basic level, most of us
would hate living in a society without names or brands. Recall the
"no-name" entities such as generic consumer goods, food,
medicine and clothes. Such commodities are strongly identified by
their very lack of identifying characteristics. But how many people
would like a genuinely no-name government, unidentifiable TV and
movie stars, or a wholly generic ways of life? The very idea strikes
a strong chord of uneasiness and distaste in our celebrity-adoring
world. We are often asked with respect to politicians, for example,
why commentators and reporters seem to become so fixated on personalities
rather than issues. What is really odd about this question is that
it is asked it all. Indeed, how could it be any other way?
Whether in politics, entertainment,
medical practice, accounting, or management consulting, there is
no future in commoditization. Success demands the distinctiveness,
the credibility, and the relevance that can only be achieved through
the development and sustaining of strong personal brands that connect
with core constituencies in compelling, memorable, significant ways.
Celebrities also meet the needs of
institutions for representatives and advocates. Hopewell Holdings
benefits when Gordon Wu becomes a celebrity, promising to jump into
Hong Kong's polluted harbor if he doesn't finish a project on time.
MTV demonstrates its relevance to the interests of Asia's young
people by developing DJs like Sarah Meier. As competition in the
educational sector heats up for the best students, Asian universities
and business schools must think seriously about recruiting or developing
star faculty that will "brand" the institution with such
associations as a place where you learn from faculty who influence
the way things are done in their areas of specialization, and therefore
attract the best students. It's not enough to have a roster of PhDs
and MBAs. You must have stars. Even religion is subject to the pressures
of high visibility. Where would the Philippines' charismatic evangelist
Mike Velarde be - what would he be earning - if he were only as
visible, and as well known, as the local parish priest?
We see by these examples some of
the benefits of high visibility that comes with developing strong
personal brands. But building a strong personal brand isn't something
that just happens. Building a strong personal brand requires a number
of things. First, there must be a plan, and that plan should be
based on a solid understanding of the market. Second, it's important
to understand how the celebrity building business works, and to
identify and leverage the tools and specialists you require. Finally,
comes execution, evaluation, and refinement, necessary to assure
that a personal brand remains relevant as the celebrity develops
and the market evolves.
If you're not thinking about your
personal brand, it's a safe bet that those you will be competing
with for attention, promotions, and opportunities, are, or will
be soon. While you may be very talented, and that's certainly important,
lots of people are. You may think of yourself as more energetic
and determined that your contemporaries, but that's not enough.
What you do is important, yes, but only if the right people know
about it. For them to know, you need to leverage the high visibility
that comes with a strong personal brand.
(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing director of
consultancy TeamAsia and the author of three books on Asian economies
and companies. His latest book is Marketing Asian Places, of which
he is a co-author (Wiley, 2001), and he is currently at work on
High Visibility: The Making and Marketing of Asian Professionals
into Celebrities. Write him at mahamlin@teamasia.com.).
Copyright © 2004 Michael Alan Hamlin. All Rights
Reserved.
(###)
|
