Big Name On Campus

In this series of blogs I have discussed my life as a BNOC. The amazing opportunities I have had and the reality of a life lived underneath a microscope. I didn't imagine this blog would get the attention it's had. It's got people talking and that's a good thing.  However I wouldn't be able to finish what I started without discussing the realities of being a BNOC. The tough stuff. The way it has effected my personal life negatively just as much as it has positively. In my first blog post I mentioned I never intended to be a BNOC. This is true. It's not something I strived towards and it just kind of happened. Today we dive into the deep. The erosion of your personal self In a previous post I discussed managing personal brand identity. Essentially managing the difference between your brand self and your personal self. Something as modern humans we all do but just aren't aware of it. You portray different versions of yourself to d...

Before we begin this blog I just want to thank you all for the reception on my blog series so far. The fact this blog was used as inspiration for a series of pub quiz questions and my name (well fake one) was an answer has truly humbled me. Thank you Lacrosse team! Anyways today marks the day where the blog begins its descent into chaos. I love chaos. A lot of you probably wonder how influencers make money. Especially micro influencers like myself. Well aside from being a half decent promoter for late night venues my work as a brand ambassador essentially helped me pay my way through second year. To this date I have worked as a brand ambassador for Jägermeister, Nido student living, Swipii, Art Fund, Smash burger and Amazon Prime. These campaigns varied from days to months. I am still technically employed by one. Each campaign is different and some had larger social media elements than others. Some required Instagram stories which disappeared within 24 hours and had n...

If you survived my previous blog post and still continued on to read this one I congratulate you. Stomaching the painful reality of social domination can be pretty difficult and it's not for faint hearted. Anyways there isn't a large backstory behind this particular blog post. Today we will be discussing managing personal brand identities. Essentially your brand identity is what people think when they see you. It's something that is picked up straight away the moment someone opens up your social media profile. It defines you and without management can often damage your social success. There are multiple elements that come to create your brand identity and some can be controlled more than others. Today I will be discussing what I believe are the most important elements. Before we begin however it is important to discuss that your personal brand identity doesn't necessarily have to be reflective of your own personal self. It is merely what you choose to show t...

In my last blog I laid out commonalities among BNOC's. Today we will be discussing how I became one and how an american reality television show shaped the way I connect with those around me and led me to social success. I can divide my high school experience into two precise halves. The half where I spent my life as a social outcast at the bottom of the pyramid and the half where I enjoyed success and sat comfortably among those at the top of the pyramid. Early High School  VS Late high school The difference between those two halves is ultimately down to my discovery of the television show survivor. Something we don't have in the UK probably because we think "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" is intense and survivor is ten times worse. The concept of the show to put it simply is two tribes of people are put on an island for thirty nine days, where they must survive, compete in challenges for immunity and vote each other off. Ther...

"What made you decide you wanted to be a BNOC?" "How do you have so many Instagram followers?" "How do you literally know everyone?" Three questions I have been asked more than once but I never really know how to answer or if the people asking the questions are actually prepared for the answer. My name is Nairn King (it's not actually but most of you have believed this for two years and I'll continue to fool you for another two hopefully) and I am what is typically now referred to as a BNOC or a student influencer or whatever the next term the agencies I've worked for decide to come up with for students who have entered the strange world of "university popularity". "University popularity" if you can even call it popularity is an interesting concept. Unlike high school where popularity spans an entire year group and everyone falls into someplace on the hierarchy (Please see my attempt at an ...