Think you’re different and unique? Think you’ve set yourself apart from the rest of us? Think again.
Today we live in a world that breeds a new age of human being. A human being that is bred for creativity in a world limited inside a bubble.
So how creative and unique are we really becoming in today’s society to brand ourselves?
The very steps we take to brand ourselves seem to objectify us into broad categories. For example, you may be purchasing an Apple computer to separate yourself from your peers and show that you can afford a luxury item that is different.
In reality, all you do is set yourself inside a demographic of high priced luxury shoppers who now have a brand loyalty towards a particular company. At the end of the day you simply become that person with the Apple computer and less of the guy with a sense of humor.
Before you know it, marketers will target you through thousands of different mediums to get you to purchase other Apple products that compliment your purchase. Suddenly, ads show up on the side of your Facebook account with links to sites that sell MacBook peripherals. After all, you’re no longer a person. To them, you’re just another MacBook consumer.
All of this leads to my favorite mass media device of all time, the television.
Today the TV has become the most effective mass marketing device of all time. I don’t watch TV often, but when I do, I tend to discover how every advertisement is tailored to me.
Why, you may ask? Since the creation of digital cable, I’ve come to find that there are thousands of channels to choose from. Among the thousands that we pay for, we usually pick between 10 to 20.
These 10 to 20 channels that we watch are the specific ideas that we’ve tailored our brains to.
Marketers know this and they end up selling us the items we purchase through selective media. Whether you’ve purchased it on HSN or not doesn’t matter; 50 percent of the item has practically sold itself to you by the time you see the commercial.
Ironically, I already know this year’s new Rolex lineup because I’ve watched the commercials on the tennis channel, not because I spend hours looking at watches in my free time.
Having thousands of channels may seem like it gives you freedom (as an American to choose any channel you want), but all it does is close you in a box of other subcategories in which millions of others will fall into.
Suddenly you find that the things that made you unique have objectified you to fit in a group of people, known as a target market. Again, you become less of a person who plays tennis, and more of a person who watches reruns of “Friends” on TBS.
Fast forward now to your job interview. Your employer asks you to define diversity or, better yet, what you bring to the workplace. You may have an answer prepared but ask yourself, “Am I really unique or have I pursued a lifestyle to make myself appear unique?”
One of the reasons I love the movie “Fight Club” (and yes I say movie and not book because I haven’t gone the extra step to read it) is because it ties the idea of consumerism being the requirement for a fulfilling lifestyle. Most importantly it sends the message that people don’t need products to define their lifestyle.
As a result, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt created an underground fight club that created diversity and uniqueness in the opposite way your TV channels do. They got together everyone that was average and gave them definition and purpose. Suddenly after ditching the IKEA lifestyle, Edward Norton knew he was a part of something more than just branding.
So should we really go the lengths to brand ourselves even if it means objectifying ourselves? The choice is yours to make. I’ve never seen a clear decision to make on either side of the fence. Branding yourself with products may actually personify your brand and give it meaning.
At the same time it could show your lack of character. Whether you like it or not, you’re already in a Scion, Toyota or Lexus category.
Now take the leap and learn how to become the Lexus.
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