More on “Branding.” (Ouch!)
April 5, 2010
A few weeks ago, I attended the Digital Entrepreneurs 2.0 event at Fordham University. It was a panel of entrepreneurs moderated by Fordham prof Bill Baker. On the panel were: entertainment attorney Steve Gordon (who’s written about the music industry and new technologies, entrepreneurship, etc.), Ladies Who Launch director Stella Grizont, Trillist Co-Founder Adam Rich, and Huffington Post and BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti.
There was a point raised by the panel’s speakers that must have been somewhat interesting because it’s still in my memory now. Plus, it relates directly to something I blogged about yesterday. So I’ll share it with you. (Whoever you one person who’s reading this might be.)
Yesterday, I mentioned the thing that I hate the most: the idea of “branding.” Speakers on this panel had pretty divergent views when it came to branding. Stella Grizont of Ladies Who Launch said she thought it was the most important way to get your name out there. She thought it was necessary not just for marketing yourself but also for developing an identity in your work. On the other side of this was Adam Rich of Thrillist. He hinted that Thrillist has no interest in working with writers (not sure if he meant freelancers or staffers or both) whose “brands” are extremely well-defined. He said individuals’ “brands” get in the way of Thrillist’s brand. Once again, the tension for freelancers between developing your identity and morphing that identity to fit the client’s wants.
This can be tough because getting your name out there is the only thing that can rake in business. But maybe being loud and proud can drive away business as well. And, in this job market, none of us are in a position to be too pick-and-choosey about what kind of clients we want to take on. Or, at least I’m not. (I’ll take anything I can get as long as it isn’t soul-selling, a conflict of interest, or anything that could raise an ethical dilemma for me as a journalist.)
So what to do? To “brand” or not to “brand”? Anyone want to share their experiences? Has “branding” helped or harmed you in your career?
