Who Are You?

7|27|2010

Who is Don Draper?  Mad Maniacs will understand that question and know that Sterling Cooper’s creative, hot and enigmatic brain trust declined to answer, thereby missing a decidedly key opportunity to brand the new advertising firm.  (Even if you don’t watch “Mad Men,” keep reading.)

As with all things Draper, we don’t know, really, why he wouldn’t answer the question posed by Advertising Age in the first segment of season 4. He thinks his work speaks for him?  It’s nobody’s business?  He doesn’t get the value of PR?  (Obviously.)  Or, he doesn’t know who he really is, the justified assumption of his 3 million fans.

But in the meantime, and more to the point for my immediate life, I wonder how I would  answer the question “Who are you?”  “What’s your brand?”  And, is it important that I could?  The answer is yes, for most of us, I think, for these reasons, among many others:

1)       If you’re job seeking, you’ll need a differentiating position to put yourself in the running.  (I’m not seeking a job, just to clear that up, but many are in this economy.)

2)       In life, it’s important to be known for something  – to have a brand promise.  And, the reality is, most of us probably are and do  – but what is it?  What can you be relied on for?

My mother, at age 93, still gets called by former clients for real estate advice, although she’s been retired for 13 years.  She’s still admired for her fashion smarts.   Her brand promise is that she’s always the well-dressed, smart and honest real estate executive.  For her to appear without matching jewelry, scarf and shoes would be as disconcerting as Lady Gaga at Brooks Brothers.  The “smart” part?  The  nonagenarian is a regularly- sought bridge partner .

My best friend is the smart, hard-nosed, warm hearted, talented, artistic woman with the empathetic ear and practical advice, whether you want it or not.  It’s why she has a lot of friends and a beautiful home. Her tagline might well be,  “Hard on the outside, soft in the inside.”

My sister is the fun-lover who makes her workplace an entertainment and her social life a constant party – in a smart way.  It’s why she’s company president and family organizer.  Her tag line:  You’ll have fun.

Me, I’m the optimistic, socializing, energizer bunny who’s a little ditzy, somewhat bookish and a lot creative.  I can be counted on to theme a party, stay up all night getting it together and make few judgments on its guests.  Leslie Resnik, The answer is yes.

So, why does it matter.  Because it’s who you are and what you stand for.  And that’s important, whether you’re a Fortune 500 corporation, a valued employee or a friend to be counted on.

We’ll find out next show how this hunky hero reframes his answer to  “Who is Don Draper?” when asked by the Wall Street Journal.   But odds are he still won’t get it right.  Any thoughts on what his brand really is?

Photo credit:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Draper

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