Power Couples, Cool Cats and the life of a Funkey: Managing personal brand identity

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 the world.

Similar to a job interview you tell people what they would want to know about you not every detail. So keep that in mind as you read on.

Power Couples

No one in the world is perfect but two brains are better than one. Power couples have been part of society since basically forever. The cheerleader and the jock is a classic example. An easy recipe for social domination. However after high school power couples aren't exactly the same and you have to ask yourself are you willing to minimise your potential dating pool just for a little more social success?

Well don't worry there is not just one way to socially dominate with a partner by your side. There are two types of power couplings which are both equally effective in achieving social domination.

Royals

You both dominate in similar fields. You might both be sports stars at your universities or competing academics in the same class. Two brains are better than one right? A royal power couple is when both parties in the coupling are skilled in the same or very similar fields. These people are basically very very similar. It's almost like dating yourself. Eliminating the competition by dating them. It's kind of like if two businesses were competing for market share and instead of competing they decided to merge. It works for both parties and together the social opportunities are often endless especially in selected social fields.

Opposites

I have a love/hate relationship with the term opposites attract. Mainly because there's a lot of evidence for it and I often fall into that trap of being attracted to someone who is absolutely nothing like me. Opposite power couplings however are when two people are successful in two very different fields and they come together. They often substitute for their partners weaknesses. You might have someone who is great at public speaking and being the star of every room they walk into and then a more quiet partner who is great at the technical things and not so confident. At the end of the day when you enter an opposite power couple you can dominate more fields but maybe not as well as a royal coupling could dominate one.

I have been in both a royal power coupling and an opposite power coupling and while I find royal power couplings more fun I found building a relationship with someone who's strengths counteract your weaknesses incredibly fulfilling and offered me a unique learning experience.

No caption needed, I'm looking for love.

Hobbies

So what you spend your time doing is pretty important. It builds your identity, who you are? who do you influence? Is it cool? Is it not?

For example before coming to university I did theatrical dance and hip hop. While I did spend some time on the Strathclyde Dance Society I found that the social aspect of the club didn't exactly fulfil me. Mainly because the club while putting on social events didn't really mix with the rest of the sports union. There are other clubs that fall into this category too.

Meanwhile my three years on cheerleading at Strathclyde has been incredibly socially fulfilling. Which is why I post much more about my experience on cheerleading. The imagery associated with cheerleaders and the imagery associated with dancers is quite different despite the fact that both physical activities are very similar. 

The perfect, popular and pretty cheerleader stereotype was something I deeply resonated with. The hanging out with the rugby boys and the booth in the main room of Light now known as Rumor are all important aspects of what ultimately made my social experience better on cheer..

Whether as cheerleaders we actually think we are perfect, popular and pretty doesn't really matter. It's the image that society has created that does and if socially and financially profiting off of that is an option I recommend you take it.

I ended up landing a promotional representative role through cheerleading and being a cheerleader also helped me convince Jagermeister that I had enough connections on campus to be a successful brand ambassador. 

However it's not all about doing what society thinks is cool but you can leave that for your personal self not your brand self. For example (embarrassing) I can name all original 151 Pokemon and probably the first 300 because in fact I was once a massive nerd. However even if I did want to join the Strathclyde Pokemon Society (we do have one) I wouldn't post about it.

Me and my cheerios at the last sports ball.

Hub Spots

So every venue you attend will have some form of branding strategy. Is it Glasgow's famous cathouse club which serves as an inclusive haven for those of the gothic culture or is it Glasgow's silky west end club Sanctuary that serves the belles and beaus of Glasgow's young social elite.

When you attend a location and post it about to your social media or even tell your friends. Aspects of the location will become attached to you. Some of its brand identity will rub off onto you for better or worse.

Unlike strange hobbies, your hub spots aren't exactly easy to hide. For example one of my hub spots would normally be Rumor (formally known as light). Rumor is a nightclub where all the "in" sports teams go on a Wednesday. It's a haven for the athletic. It resonates with my brand identity and it works for me.

A hub spot that wouldn't resonate with my brand identity would be Glasgow's Garage where despite the fact I attended enough in my freshers year for the security to eventually recognise me the imagery behind the venue is not something that matches my current brand identity. Glasgow Garage is rough, messy and dare I say random. The clubs marketing strategy is throwing things at a wall hoping something will stick with the hundreds of themed nights that don't often make much sense and are inconsistent. W I L D.

However I would be lying if I didn't say I once enjoyed it. Vodka and bouncy castles made my Tuesdays as a fresher. Unfortunately nowadays if my friends suggested a night out there I would rather stay home.

First year me having a great time at Garage.

So there you have it. Three important matters of personal brand identity. If you can learn to manage these your chances at social success and of course the BNOC title might be a little larger.

May the odds of campus fame be ever in your favour.

Nairn King.