brandividual

Fronting for “the Man”: Can BP disarm our anger by using a Black “Teddy-Bear” Spokesperson?

June 24, 2010

Tweet [Trigger alert: This post is about racism.] There is no more incendiary question than the implicit and unspoken question that often follows the promotion of non-white and/or non-male employees: Did s/he get the job because s/he’s qualified, or did s/he get the job because s/he’s (fill in the diversity criterion here)? Corporate American is […]

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BP’s Bravest Brandividual: What could be motivating Darryl Willis?

June 22, 2010

Tweet If you’ve been paying attention to BP’s “Making it right” newspaper advertising, or if you’ve seen BP’s recent television advertising, you’ve seen BP’s new Brandividual Darryl Willis. Aside from Tony Hayward, BP’s walking PR disaster CEO, Darryl Willis is the only person with a name shown by BPs own advertisements as being in charge […]

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How are Brandividuals special?

June 17, 2009

Tweet What is it that makes Brandividuals a ‘special’ kind of organizational representative or spokesperson? It seems to be all in the balance that brandividuals strike between displaying ‘who they are’ and advocating for ‘what the organization wants’. More than "Spokesmodels" Brandividuals do all kinds of important stakeholder contact, communication and problem resolution work. In […]

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Why We Want Brandividuals on Social Media

June 11, 2009

Tweet Brandividuals are an important tactic for representing an organization online. Yes, I know, the term “Brandividual” is kind of funky, and maybe even has an annoying buzz, but as a concept it’s here to stay. Why? Because brandividuals are the most transparent, authentic and ultimately effective way of representing an organization in an online […]

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What’s your *personal* ROI as a Brandividual?

June 3, 2009

Tweet I’m not a wholehearted fan of personal branding. Some elements of applying a construct designed to sell products to the activity of selling oneself are a little questionable (as I argue in my Employee Branding research),  because personal branding can lead to an overly commercial understanding of the self. Quite simply, personal branding can […]

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What’s a Brandividual?

May 20, 2009

Tweet When I read that David Armano had “invented” the term “Brandividual” a few months ago, I muttered choice words from an array of Continental languages and berated myself for not having TM’d the word myself. Back when I started researching the practices of employee branding and ‘wearing the brand’, I’d toyed with the idea […]

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