Many years ago, before the information age really got started, I remember a small news story. A man who was having trouble finding a job self produced a television commercial and bought some advertising time. His intention was to sell himself so he could get a job. The spot was going to run during some odd overnight hour when ad time was cheap. This was such an interesting story that the local news channel featured it in a brief segment during the 11:00 PM newscast.

I have no idea what happened to the guy. He probably wasn’t the only person to have done it. I thought of this story during the past few weeks while starting to assemble this website. Today we are surrounded by personal brands: video sharing sites, networking sites, web logs, text messages, reality shows, reality shows featuring people from other reality shows. The objective is to strategically develop your personal brand. It needs to attract attention, resonate with consumers, and have transferable equity. Most people don’t even know they are nurturing this environment. Which way do you view “twittering”: as a way to know what your friends are up to, or as an opportunity to send a brand message?

We have been in this “branding age” for quite some time. In the 1980’s we were living in a material world. The 1990’s were the beginnings of the digital age. This decade I’m calling the “branding age”. This is about calculating your value and having consumers purchase your goods and services. This is as simple as changing your view of employment. “My employer is buying my services. I am going to find a customer that will pay a premium price for my product attributes.” It took me about five minutes to realize that my brand is undervalued. I don’t mean “I’m not paid enough at my present job”. As a brand, which is every attribute I have, I am not being rewarded in every manner I could be.

This blog, along with my website, is my opportunity to dive into the branding age. To reach out to everyone (potential customers) and present my knowledge and skills (brand attributes). If successful, I’ll be a case study in Kevin Lane Keller’s customer-based brand equity pyramid.  If not, then I’ll be a different case study. Either way, future MBA candidates will be saying “I have to read that Robert Raber case for class tomorrow night.” I would call that brand management.

Check back in about a week for my next post. The plan is for each post to be on something different. Feel free to comment on the blog. Thanks for stopping by.