“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” ~ Michelangelo Buonarroti, well-known artist
As marketing folk, we like to tell clients, prospects, friends and family that we create brands. After all, we’re creative people – we like to dream things up and bring them to life.
Naturally, the creative process is a zesty one which gratifies something deep within us, so that’s a big reason we do what we do.
We digress. The point is — while we absolutely love creating and identify ourselves strongly as creative people and are worried Someone will outlaw what we do and make us actually work for a living — when we help a client brand themselves, really what we’re doing is helping them discover the brand within.
The branding process is very similar to the journey of self-discovery in psychotherapy — you have to look inward without flinching, you have to be brutally honest with yourselves, it’ll be painful sometimes, but at the end of the branding journey, you’ll have a much more complete and focused idea of who you are, thus leading to a more prosperous, contented organization. And there are tissues, just in case.
So maybe we’re not the Michelangelos of Branding. Perhaps we’re really branding therapists.
“Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.”
~ Sigmund Freud, well-known shrink
We’re sorry, but our time is up.
