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33 Comments to “Why Madonna Can Reinvent Herself and We Cannot”

1. January 16th, 2009 at 8:30 am
   Karin H said

   How can personal branding fit in authentic relationships?

   Can it? It makes me wonder if you need personal branding in authentic relationships – feels wrong somehow.

   Or is it just the way we perceive the word branding: advertising etc

   Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

2. January 16th, 2009 at 8:31 am
   Stephanie Ciccarelli said

   Hi Liz,

   I just caught your tweet directing us to read your post.

   How very true! Authenticity and integrity are king when you are establishing and promoting a brand. Oftentimes people try to reinvent themselves to get away from something or to spark new interest. We’ve seen it also with products such as Coca-Cola and now Gatorade, or should I say, “G”?

   Relationships are so important and are hopefully, in most cases, built upon trust and a mutual respect. If one were to go re-branding merely for the sake of doing so, there’s the risk of potentially losing the initial connection that the relationship was built upon.

   Similarly, musicians such as Madonna run the risk of losing their initial audience if they stray too far from their roots or core.

   Great article

   Best wishes,

   Stephanie Ciccarelli
   Co-founder of Voices.com

3. January 16th, 2009 at 8:46 am
   Dena Whitebirch said

   Rebranding and reinventing isn’t necessarily the opposite of authentic and honest. I constantly reinvent myself.

   If you diligently study anything at all, 2 hours a day for 2 years you can become an expert at it…even if you know nothing at all about it to begin with.

   Two years from now my interests and abilities will surely be different than they are today.

   Yet yes, my basic character and values will likely not have changed which is the place the trust and authenticity you talk about comes from.

   On the other hand we hear many stories of hard criminals who do change their character and even become great religious leaders.

   Maybe what we’re exploring here is whether the ‘growth’ of a brand necessitates the creation of a new brand.

4. January 16th, 2009 at 8:46 am
   Jenn Givler said

   I agree with Karin here. In my relationships in social media (or really, any “business” relationship), I tend not to think of it as branding myself… it’s just me being me – doing what I love to do from a place of authenticity.

5. January 16th, 2009 at 8:50 am
   Geoff Livingston said

   I think this is great. It proves the old adage. Wherever you go there you are. That’s why the personal brand stuff just seems like phooey to me. Sooner or later the real you comes out.

6. January 16th, 2009 at 8:51 am
   Daniel Edlen said

   I’d ask “What’s real?”

   http://vinylart.blogspot.com/2008/09/real-gone.html

   Rebranding, I think, is refocussing the rest of the world’s attention on a different part of you. Branding in the first place is distilling content down to a bite when there’s really a whole meal.

   I, for example, do not only paint portraits on records. That’s simply what I’m presenting publicly as clearly as possible to reach and connect with as many people as possible. As an artist, though, my focus might shift to, say, my abstract sculpture someday. I could then rebrand authentically, or create a second brand.

   Does this make sense?

   Thanks for making me think so early in the morning,

7. January 16th, 2009 at 8:53 am
   KatFrench said

   We cannot rebrand or reinvent real relationships with real people.

   No. But if what’s going on with us isn’t just a “rebranding,” if we’re actually going through some kind of transformation… we can bring those relationships along for the ride, I think.

   But the temptation is to edit that part out, go dark for a while, and come back different. Sometimes substantially different. Which, I suppose, can seem to other people like a “personal rebranding.”

   This is relevant for me right now, because I am going through… something. I’m not exactly sure what it is or who I’m going to be when I come out the other side.

   But this posthas made me realize that editing it out, going dark, and coming back different isn’t the right route.

   Thanks, and have a lovely weekend.

8. January 16th, 2009 at 9:00 am
   Brad Shorr said

   For me, the phrase “personal branding” is an oxymoron. Public images can change because they are artificial. But unless you change at the core, you are what you are to a great extent. What you are is what comes through on your blog and in your social media conversations. If you try to manipulate that, you might succeed in creating a brand, but is it still personal?

9. January 16th, 2009 at 9:05 am
   Karin H said

   This is relevant for me right now, because I am going through… something. I’m not exactly sure what it is or who I’m going to be when I come out the other side.

   KtFrench, I hope you ‘come out’ stronger, wiser like most of us do at some point in life. Change is scary, change is needed – it’s one of the facts of life, we all change – in order to grow and fulfil our true authenticity.

   You’ll be whole, nothing let out – just ‘older/wiser’.

   Karin H

10. January 16th, 2009 at 9:22 am
    Roy Jacobsen said

    Karin, Jenn,
    However, if we look at branding as “the sum of the impressions–good or bad–resulting from an individual’s interactions with X” (where X is a product, company, or individual), then you *do* bring branding into every relationship, whether it’s intentional or not.

    Michael Jordan the person, and not Micheal Jordan the business interest, has a brand. I don’t think he can separate the personal interactions from the business interactions.

    Liz, regarding “reinvention:” There’s a different sort of reinvention, though. For example, I’m in the process of reinventing my career from being a “technical editor” to being something else. My persona is the same, but what I do to put bread on the table is quite a bit different.

11. January 16th, 2009 at 9:27 am
    Todd Smith said

    I agree wholeheartedly. If relationships are to be meaningful, they have to be based on something real.

12. January 16th, 2009 at 9:29 am
    Karin H said

    Roy, I agree with your sentiment that we bring our personal ‘brand’ into every relationship we have.
    Just not sure if we have to call it ‘branding’ – to me it is more building an authentic and honest two-way relationship

    Karin H.

13. January 16th, 2009 at 10:11 am
    Jack B. Rochester said

    Liz, it looks like you need to add the word “Can” to your post’s title.

    Very thoughtful post, especially apropos in these challenging times. I just wrote about Malcolm Gladwell’s similar influences on our thinking at
    our blog, “The Business Insider,” http://www.timrosablog.com/main_blog/business_intelligence/

    Cheers,
    Jack

14. January 16th, 2009 at 10:26 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Karin H.
    That is indeed my point. I don’t think personal branding belongs anywhere near personal relationship building.

    Hi Stephanie,
    Somewhere in those words “mutual respect” I hear the idea that I’ll you decide who you see in me. I won’t try to “put someone out there.” Um, call me L.

    Hey, Dena,
    I think we’re in the world of semantics. When a rockstar or a politician changes their “image” — they want us to “forget” what went before. That kind of reinvention to me isn’t growth, it’s changing clothes.

15. January 16th, 2009 at 10:28 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hey Jenn and Geoff,
    Yeah, underneath it all we are who we are. We can polish and improve on what we’re given, but some of it came with the package. I agree we need to go with our strengths — everything’s a strength when we know how to work with it.

16. January 16th, 2009 at 10:40 am
    Stephanie Ciccarelli said

    Hi Liz,

    I’m not sure if I know what you mean.

    My bit about re-branding and potentially losing the founding element that brought a relationship on (such as the attachment a fan may feel to a particular hero, musician, actor, etc.) is real and has nothing to do with anything other than the brand relationship which is separate altogether from a personal relationship.

    My perspective shared in a previous comment was merely from a business branding angle. Relationships developed with people in our lives are different entirely and should always be built upon trust and authenticity to be meaningful. I think we all agree upon that

    Best regards,

    Stephanie

17. January 16th, 2009 at 10:51 am
    No Rebranding of Real Relationships « Wir sprechen Online. said

    [...] Society Strauss: “We cannot rebrand or reinvent real relationships with real people”; http://cli.gs/S7qqYT   [...]

18. January 16th, 2009 at 11:53 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Stephanie,
    I was quoting your words “mutual respect” because I so agree with you. Reading my comment now, I see how it could have been taking in a variety of tones. Sorry about that. With you 100%

19. January 16th, 2009 at 11:54 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Daniel,
    You always make sense and I see you meet with people at the core of the matter where you agree and find thoughts and ideas worth discussing.

20. January 16th, 2009 at 11:56 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Kat,
    Going away to find what you value and what you want the world to know about you is a good thing. Good luck to you.

21. January 16th, 2009 at 11:57 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Roy,
    Ah, yes, I agree your job role is changing, but if you take the people and relationships with you it must be a careful rearranging.

22. January 16th, 2009 at 11:58 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hey Todd,
    With you!

    Thanks Jack.
    Some I fixed it and I appreciate the link to you thoughts.

23. January 16th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
    katinka - spirituality said

    Can’t we at least change who we are in certain relationships? Don’t relationships evolve?

24. January 16th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Of course, we change, Katinka.
    We grow. We evolve. But a tiger doesn’t become a bird. We don’t reinvent who we are we get to be more or less of the same thing — broader, deeper, not something different. Don’t think that’s what it is?

25. January 16th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
    sabine Heusler said

    I agree… because in our personal relationships we feel first hand and if a ‘persona’ stuffs up or hurts us or lets us down it has lasting effects… I like to think that my relationships with people is real not a made up person catering to what turns me on… (like madonna)… BUT I do believe people can change and grow… and thus people move in and out of my life constantly… and Im good with that because that to me is living…

26. January 16th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
    Richard Reeve said

    Jung defined the persona as the mask that is the compromise between what the world expects and what we demand. There is a tendency in social media to adopt the posture and voice of the successful, thereby becoming part of the “wannabe” chorus.

    The great surprise for me has been the challenge to live and speak in a way that I before dared not risk. I’ve needed to peel back the layers of protection/defense and speak from a place I not only hid from the world, but from myself…Disclosure of self has brought beautiful results.

27. January 16th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Sabine!
    The tricky about social media is that we’re now mixing the people who move in and out our lives with the brands we build. It takes careful thinking not to hurt folks in the process.

28. January 16th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Richard,
    We need to hold onto those beautiful experiences and value them even as we move forward and grow our businesses. To lose what we’ve made would be a sadness.

29. January 16th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
    Richard Reeve said

    I hope you’ll throw a penalty flag my way if you notice that mistake…

30. January 17th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
    Eric Brown said

    Liz, Hi
    Madonna is a great case study, and has demonstrated effectively how she has branded and re-branded and reinvented herself multiple times. Although I own and operate a small business now, I spent most of my career in Corporate America.

    I am not convinced that businesses couldn’t do this too if they were not so afraid.

31. January 17th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
    Bonnie Holscher said

    I believe we all can reinvent ourselves and in fact enhance a relationship. By saying we can not reinvent ourselves and maintain authenticity we are saying that we can not make changes in ourselves. When in fact sometimes change is the only way to actually succeed.

32. January 18th, 2009 at 1:28 am
    Cheryle Gagnon said

    I think we all need to do some Soul Searching, and stop comparing ourself to other people whether or not they are famous.

    Unique character is a gift that all of us were given the day of our birth. We live, and we change.

    Are you the same baby now? Of course not. That is how nature reinvents each of us.

    The best part is we don’t need media approval to change. It’s our thinking about change that may need to be corrected. Hopefully as Nature reinvents us, we like the new “image.”

    Cheryle (Smile, it feels good!)

33. January 19th, 2009 at 10:28 am
    Create a Thriving Business » Blog Archive » How much is TMI? said

    [...] you’re providing. Liz Strauss shared a really great view-point on personal branding in this post last week. As Liz says “We connect with authenticity and trust, or [...]