So today my Global Brand Guru ranking moved from #12 to #3. And I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself.
But here’s the question. Does it matter? Is it a big deal? Does anyone give a shit?
On the one hand … no, it’s not a big deal. It’s just a ranking done by a research organisation called Global Gurus. Importantly though, they make their revenue from advertisers on their sites, which means you can’t “buy” your ranking or have it influenced by money. And their criteria for judging the TOP 30 is categorically marked on the basis of the following factors:
- Public opinion – 30%
- Originality of ideas – 30%
- Impact of original ideas – 10%
- Practicality of ideas – 10%
- Presentation style (boring gurus get lower points) – 10%
- Number of publications and writings – 5%
- Other considerations – 5%
On the other hand, it is a big deal for a guy who calls himself The Brand Guy, who has no big company brand name behind him, who works out of a small office in Surry Hills, and who needs clients to trust him when it comes to branding their business and organisation. After all, just about everyone is some sort of brand expert, right? Like, how hard can it be to write a decent Vision, Mission, and Value Proposition? And is it really worth the $50,000 or so dollars he’s charging us? Can’t we just find a guy online in Poland to do it for $2,000?
Needles to say I take pride in my work. And while my output seems (and is) clean, clear, and simple – it’s something people and organisations CAN get their head around and actually implement and act upon – great branding is not simple.
Great branding is a unique combination of left and right brain, working together into a whole that makes sense AND makes hearts race with excitement and anticipation. Great branding is the art of reduction – taking thousands of ideas, opinions, pages of research, and hours of conversations and reducing it all to a Brand Essence; a simple statement or phrase or idea that drives everything your people and your organisation says and does. Great branding tells YOUR story, by using language that starts at the top (CEO/MD), is original, that engages your people, and is true.
At the end of the day the success of your business is not going to be determined by quality or professionalism. It’s about faith, belief, conviction, courage, meaning, and reputation. And that’s exactly what a great brand is.
So thanks to Global Gurus for endorsing my brand.
