Standing out in the crowd as ‘unique’ in today’s marketplace is seen as the way to develop a personal brand, and building a platform for increased marketability. How this is accomplished may be through different means, but basic principles apply.

Being who you are in reality, rather than how you believe your audience wants you to be, is the underlying premise of true authenticity. Authenticity is a core value in the process of branding. 

In an effort to become known or establish their personal brand, I have observed people evolving their personas and platforms sometimes seasonally, often with radical shifts – as if no one would notice the change.  

This is not a new concept. Sometimes shifts are made to communicate different messages to anyone who is still listening. George Plimpton comes to mind as a consummate example illustrating this type of persona shape-shifting in platform-building.

An American journalist, writer and actor, Plimpton is best known for his seemingly unexpected forays into random venues, including (but not limited to) professional football, golf, tennis, ice hockey, and even a circus high-wire act in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The mere mention of his name related to a surprise appearance for any occasion became a pop-expression of the times. In the 1980’s, he made cameo appearances in feature films and television series, further building on this essential truth for George Plimpton.

American artist Andy Warhol is credited with coining the well-known phrase “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” His reference was to the media attention grabbed by celebrity until the audience grew tired. His thought was the media could make anyone famous. It seems some publicity seekers grab onto this concept as a quick-fix in a fast rise to “fame,” attracting media by any possible means, with little regard to consequences.

Two recent instances have pointed up the degree to which the media may be misapplied in this Black Hat practice:

• “Balloon Boy” Falcon Heene’s falsely-promoted high-flying misadventure by the six year-old’s parents Richard and Mayumi Heene on October 15, was finally admitted to be a hoax.

• Michaele and Tareq Salahi , the couple who crashed President Obama’s first White House state dinner in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife on November 24, strolled past the security checkpoints and had numerous pictures taken that evening. At this writing, investigations are still underway.

The media reported both episodes were fueled by the participants’ desire to secure a reality television show series through successful execution of their respective publicity stunts, as their platforms.

Headline-seeking tendencies and self-aggrandizement are shifting sands upon which to build a platform. A commonly-held belief that “bad publicity is better than none at all” is an outmoded concept in today’s digital marketing world, where there may be a lot of noise – sound bites, images and words live onward. People may in part “forget” or even to an extent ‘forgive,’ but those images and words carry forward in related baggage not easily lost.

…and while Andy Warhol is also credited with saying “Art is what you can get away with,” effective branding is based upon authenticity. I believe authenticity is the core essence of the essential element of ‘Truth’ in effective Branding. Authenticity lies not in what is portrayed, but rather that which is seen.